蚊か

か

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

noun

mosquito

Common insect; often appears in compounds like 蚊帳 (かや, mosquito net) or 蚊取り線香 (かとりせんこう, mosquito coil).

夏なつになると蚊かが多おおくなる。
Mosquitoes become more common in summer.
蚊かに刺さされてかゆい。
I got bitten by a mosquito and it itches.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉が蚊かに刺さされるto get bitten by a mosquito
腕うでを蚊かに刺さされてかゆい。
My arm itches because a mosquito bit me.
蚊かを叩たたくto swat a mosquito
耳みみ元もとで蚊かの音おとがしたので叩たたいた。
I heard a mosquito buzzing near my ear, so I swatted it.
蚊かが飛とんでいるmosquitoes are flying around
夏なつの夜よるは蚊かがたくさん飛とんでいる。
On summer nights, lots of mosquitoes are flying around.

Expressions

蚊かの涙なみだpittance; a very small amount
蚊かの囁ささやくような声こえfaint voice; barely audible voice
蚊かの鳴なくような声こえfaint voice; thin voice; tiny voice
蚊かの食くうほどにも思おもわぬnot care at all; not be bothered in the slightest

Kanji

蚊mosquito

Don't confuse with

ハエN1
蚊 sucks blood and causes itchy bites, while ハエ (a fly) doesn't bite but is a pest around food and waste, so learners often group them together as annoying insects.
ブユ
蚊 has a slender body and long legs, while ブヨ (a black fly/gnat) is smaller and stouter but also bites and causes itching, so the two are easily confused as biting insects.
虻あぶ
虻 (a horsefly) is a large biting fly that troubles livestock, while 蚊 (a mosquito) is much smaller and the more common household pest.

Counted with

匹ひきN3
counter for small animals · counter for rolls of cloth · archaic counter for horses · roll of cloth

Word family· 21

蚊帳かや
mosquito net
イエカ
house mosquito; Culex mosquito
ユスリカ
chironomid; non-biting midge
ヌカカ
biting midge; no-see-um
蚊か柱ばしら
mosquito swarm; swarm of mosquitoes

Show 6 more

蚊か火び
smoky fire to repel mosquitoes
蚊か針ばり
fishing fly
蚊かよけ
mosquito repellent; mosquito protection
蚊か取とり
mosquito repellent; mosquito control
蚊か遣やり
mosquito-repelling fire; smudge fire
蚊か遣やり器き
mosquito repellent device; mosquito fumigator

See all 21 in Explore →

Written forms

蚊かUsage51%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency in news and general use.
カUsage48%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling occasionally used for emphasis or in scientific contexts.
かUsage1%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially in children's materials or when the kanji is not needed.

Etymology

Native Japanese word. The kanji 蚊 is a phono-semantic compound: 虫 (insect) + 文 (sound component).

Meanings

noun

mosquito

Common insect; often appears in compounds like 蚊帳 (かや, mosquito net) or 蚊取り線香 (かとりせんこう, mosquito coil).

夏なつになると蚊かが多おおくなる。
Mosquitoes become more common in summer.
蚊かに刺さされてかゆい。
I got bitten by a mosquito and it itches.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉が蚊かに刺さされるto get bitten by a mosquito

腕うでを蚊かに刺さされてかゆい。

My arm itches because a mosquito bit me.

蚊かを叩たたくto swat a mosquito

耳みみ元もとで蚊かの音おとがしたので叩たたいた。

I heard a mosquito buzzing near my ear, so I swatted it.

蚊かが飛とんでいるmosquitoes are flying around

夏なつの夜よるは蚊かがたくさん飛とんでいる。

On summer nights, lots of mosquitoes are flying around.

Don't confuse with

ハエN1

蚊 sucks blood and causes itchy bites, while ハエ (a fly) doesn't bite but is a pest around food and waste, so learners often group them together as annoying insects.

ブユ

蚊 has a slender body and long legs, while ブヨ (a black fly/gnat) is smaller and stouter but also bites and causes itching, so the two are easily confused as biting insects.

虻あぶ

虻 (a horsefly) is a large biting fly that troubles livestock, while 蚊 (a mosquito) is much smaller and the more common household pest.

Word family· 21

蚊帳かや

mosquito net

イエカ

house mosquito; Culex mosquito

ユスリカ

chironomid; non-biting midge

ヌカカ

biting midge; no-see-um

蚊か柱ばしら