目め玉だま

め

だ

ま

○

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

noun

eyeball

Literal noun for the round eyeball itself; more concrete and sometimes more vivid or colloquial than simply 目.

猫ねこの目め玉だまが暗くら闇やみで光ひかって見みえた。
The cat's eyeballs seemed to glow in the dark.

noun

centerpiece; main attraction; special feature

abbreviation

Figurative use for the thing meant to attract the most attention, such as a featured exhibit, event, broadcast segment, or selling point; related to compounds like 目玉番組.

See also: 目玉番組 (めだまばんぐみ)

この展てん覧らん会かいの目め玉だまは、初はつ公こう開かいの絵えだ。
The centerpiece of this exhibition is a painting being shown for the first time.
新しん番ばん組ぐみの目め玉だまは豪ごう華かな出しゅつ演えん者しゃだ。
The main attraction of the new program is its star-studded cast.

noun

featured bargain; loss leader; special promotional item or program

abbreviation

Retail or promotional use, often short for 目玉商品: a prominently advertised bargain or attraction used to draw customers. Also lists a broader promotional/program sense.

See also: 目玉商品 (めだましょうひん)

今日きょうのスーパーの目め玉だまは、卵たまご一いちパック98円えんだ。
Today's featured bargain at the supermarket is a pack of eggs for 98 yen.
年ねん末まつセールの目め玉だまとして大おお型がたテレビを半はん額がくにした。
They made large TVs half price as the big draw for the year-end sale.

noun

sunny-side-up fried egg

abbreviation

Casual abbreviation of 目玉焼き. The full form 目玉焼き is much more explicit and safer in ordinary writing.

See also: 目玉焼き (めだまやき)

料りょう理りの注ちゅう文もんで「目め玉だま」と言いえば、目め玉だま焼やきを指さすことがある。
When ordering food, 目玉 can sometimes mean a fried egg sunny-side up.

Written forms

目め玉だまUsage99%
Standard high-priority kanji spelling for the literal and figurative uses. Only this kanji form and the reading めだま.
めだまUsage1%

Kanji

目eye, class, look
玉jewel, ball

Similar words

目め
The general word for an eye; 目玉 specifically refers to the eyeball or, figuratively, a main attraction.
眼がん球きゅう
A more technical or anatomical word for the eyeball; 目玉 is more everyday and also has figurative meanings.
目め玉だま商しょう品ひん
The explicit compound for a featured bargain or loss-leader product; 目玉 can be used as a shortened form in context.
目め玉だま焼やき
The normal word for a sunny-side-up fried egg; 目玉 alone is only a casual abbreviation for this food sense.

Etymology

A transparent compound of 目, "eye," and 玉, "ball" or "round object," giving the literal sense "eyeball." The figurative senses extend from the idea of something visually prominent or attention-grabbing.