crab louse; pubic louse
Refers to the parasitic insect Pthirus pubis, commonly known as crab louse or pubic louse. Used in medical, biological, and everyday contexts.
Crab lice are mainly transmitted through sexual contact.
To get rid of pubic lice, use a special shampoo.
Common mixed kanji-kana spelling; the kanji 毛 (hair) is combined with hiragana for the rest.
Variant with katakana for the second part, sometimes used in biological or emphatic contexts.
Katakana spelling, common in scientific or medical contexts, or for emphasis.
Full kanji spelling using 虱 (louse); rarely used and may be difficult to read.
Compound of 毛 (ke, 'hair') and しらみ (shirami, 'louse'). The reading じらみ is a rendaku (voicing) form of しらみ.