玉たま

noun

drop; droplet; bead of liquid

Used when liquid forms visible round beads, especially sweat, dew, or tears.

• 額ひたいに汗あせの玉たまが浮うかんでいた。

  Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

noun

sports ball; pitch

Only when written 球

Used for the ball in sports and, in baseball, for a pitched ball. 球 is especially common for this sense.

• 彼かれの投なげる球たまはとても速はやい。

  The balls he pitches are very fast.

noun

portion of noodles; bundle of noodles

Used for a rounded portion or bundle of noodles, often counted as 一玉, 二玉, and so on.

• ラーメンの麺めんをもう一ひと玉たま追つい加かした。

  I added one more portion of noodles to the ramen.

noun

bullet; round

Only when written 弾

The projectile fired from a gun; 弾 is the normal kanji for this sense.

• 銃じゅうに弾たまを込こめる。

  Load bullets into the gun.

noun

light bulb

Only when written 球

Refers to the bulb part of a lamp or flashlight; often written 球 and somewhat old-fashioned beside 電球 or ランプ.

• 懐かい中ちゅう電でん灯とうの球たまを交こう換かんした。

  I replaced the bulb in the flashlight.

noun

lens

A lens of glasses or a similar optical item. Modern everyday Japanese more often uses レンズ, so 玉 can sound specialized or old-fashioned here.

• 眼鏡めがねの玉たまに細こまかい傷きずがついている。

  There are fine scratches on the lenses of the glasses.

noun

abacus bead

Only when written 玉 / 珠

The movable beads on an abacus; 玉 and 珠 are both attested for this meaning.

• そろばんの玉たまを指ゆびではじく。

  Flick the beads of the abacus with your finger.

noun

balls; testicle

Only when written 玉

Slang abbreviation of 金玉; crude and informal, usually avoided in polite conversation.

See also: 金玉 (きんたま)

• ボールが玉たまに当あたって、彼かれはうずくまった。

  The ball hit him in the balls, and he crouched down.

noun

gem; jewel; pearl

Only when written 玉 / 珠

A jewel-like, often round precious object. 珠 is especially associated with pearls or jewel-like beads; figurative use is possible but can sound literary.

• 古ふるい指ゆび輪わには青あおい珠たまがはめ込こまれていた。

  A blue gem was set in the old ring.

• 彼かの女じょは玉たまのような肌はだをしている。

  She has skin like a pearl.

noun

female entertainer; geisha

Rare, older use for a female entertainer such as a geisha, mainly encountered in historical or specialized contexts.

• 古ふるい花はな街まちの文ぶん章しょうでは、芸げい者しゃを玉たまと呼よぶことがある。

  In old writing about entertainment districts, a geisha may be called 玉.

noun

character; sort of person

Derogatory or teasing use when judging someone's nature, often in phrases such as とんだ玉 or 変な玉.

• あいつはとんだ玉たまだ。

  He's a real piece of work.

noun

resource for a scheme; pawn; stake

Jargon-like use for a person, item, or funds used as part of a plot or scheme; not a general word for resources.

• 犯はん罪ざい小しょう説せつでは、計けい画かくに使つかう人ひとや金かねを玉たまと呼よぶことがある。

  In crime fiction, people or money used in a scheme may be called 玉.

noun, noun, used as a suffix

egg

Only when written 玉

Limited use of 玉 for an egg, especially as the 玉 element in 玉子 and related food terms; ordinary modern standalone 'egg' is 卵 or 玉子.

See also: 卵

• 「玉たま子ご焼やき」の玉たまは卵たまごを表あらわしている。

  The 玉 in 玉子焼き represents an egg.

noun, used as a suffix, counter

okonomiyaki; okonomiyaki portion

Only when written 玉

Food-counter or suffix use in okonomiyaki names and orders, such as 豚玉 and いか玉.

See also: お好み焼き

• 店みせのメニューには豚ぶた玉たまといか玉たまが並ならんでいる。

  The shop's menu lists pork okonomiyaki and squid okonomiyaki.

noun, used as a suffix

coin

Only when written 玉 · Only with reading だま

Suffix meaning a coin of a given denomination, normally read だま because of rendaku in compounds such as 十円玉.

• 財さい布ふに十じゅう円えん玉だまが三さん枚まいある。

  There are three ten-yen coins in my wallet.

noun, used as a suffix

precious; beautiful; excellent

Limited, mostly literary or fixed modifier use based on the idea of a jewel; not a productive everyday suffix for 'excellent'.

• 「玉たまの肌はだ」は、美うつくしい肌はだを宝ほう石せきにたとえる古こ風ふうな表ひょう現げんだ。

  玉の肌 is an old-fashioned expression that compares beautiful skin to a jewel.