Refers to small crawling creatures like worms and insects, often with a nuance of being insignificant or unpleasant. Used in both literal and figurative contexts.
When I turned over the stone, lots of bugs came out.
He was treated like a mere worm.
insignificant person; pathetic person; worm
Derogatory term for a person considered worthless or contemptible, likening them to a bug. Strongly insulting.
I can't lose to a worm like that.
Standard mixed kanji-kana spelling. The kana portion けら is usually written in hiragana.
Variant with katakana ケラ, sometimes used for emphasis or in informal writing.
Rare kanji form using 螻 (けら, mole cricket). Seldom used in modern Japanese.
Compound of 虫 (むし, 'insect') and けら ('mole cricket'). The second element けら originally referred to the mole cricket specifically, but in this compound it serves to emphasize small, insignificant creatures. The exact derivation of けら is uncertain, but it is a native Japanese word.