ボウフラ

Word family

• アカボウフラ

  bloodworm; red midge larva

Written forms

• ボウフラUsage59%
  kana-only spelling

  Katakana spelling is the most common written form for this word.

• ボーフラUsage24%iUsage for this spelling across all readings, not one reading alone.
  • ボーフラ

    search-only kana form
  • ぼうふら

    Search-only katakana variant with long vowel; not a standard spelling.

• ぼうふらUsage15%

  Hiragana spelling is also used, but less common than katakana.

• 孑孑ぼうふらUsage3%
  rarely-used kanji form

  Rare kanji form; almost never used in modern writing.

• 孑孒ぼうふら
  rarely-used kanji form

  Rare kanji form; almost never used in modern writing.

• 棒振ぼうふら
  rarely-used kanji form

  Rare kanji form; almost never used in modern writing.

Etymology

Developed from 棒振り, literally “waving a stick,” a name inspired by the larva’s wriggling motion; the form passed through sound changes to ぼうふら.