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ミツバチ (みつばち) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

ミツバチ

み

つ

ば

ち

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

honeybee; honey bee

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the insect genus Apis, especially the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera) kept for honey production.

ミツバチが花はなから花はなへ飛とび回まわっている。
Honeybees are flying from flower to flower.
養よう蜂ほう家かはミツバチから蜂はち蜜みつを集あつめる。
Beekeepers collect honey from honeybees.

Written forms

ミツバチUsage69%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is common and matches usual-kana usage.
みつばちUsage23%
Hiragana spelling; also common.
蜜みつ蜂ばちUsage8%
Kanji spelling; less common in everyday use.

Kanji

蜜honey, nectar, molasses

蜂bee, wasp, hornet

Similar words

蜂はち
蜂 is the general term for 'bee' or 'wasp'; ミツバチ specifically refers to honeybees.
蜂はち蜜みつ
蜂蜜 means 'honey', the product made by honeybees.

Etymology

Compound of 蜜 (mitsu, 'honey') + 蜂 (hachi, 'bee'), with rendaku voicing hachi → bachi.