豚ぶた

ぶ

た

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

pig; domestic pig

Refers to the animal, especially the domestic pig. The katakana form ブタ is also common in contexts such as animal names or labels.

祖そ父ふの農のう場じょうでは豚ぶたを十じゅっ頭とう飼かっている。

My grandfather's farm keeps ten pigs.

2

noun

pork

Used to mean pork, especially in dish names, menus, and contrasts with other meats. 豚肉 is the more explicit word when you specifically mean the meat.

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉で豚ぶたを飼かうto raise pigs at a place
祖そ父ふの農のう場じょうで豚ぶたを飼かっている。
My grandfather raises pigs on his farm.
豚ぶたのように太ふとるto get as fat as a pig
食たべ過すぎて豚ぶたのように太ふとってしまった。
I overate and ended up getting as fat as a pig.

Expressions

豚ぶたに真しん珠じゅcasting pearls before swine
豚ぶたを盗ぬすんで骨ほねを施ほどこすyou cannot excuse a bad deed with a petty act of benevolence; steal a pig and give the feet for alms
豚ぶたもおだてりゃ木きに登のぼるflattery will motivate anyone; even a pig will climb a tree if flattered

Kanji

豚pork, pig
豕pig, hog, pig radical (no. 152)

Related words

豚ぶた肉にくN5sense 2
豚 can mean pork in casual or menu contexts, while 豚肉 is the clearer, more explicit word for pork as meat.
デブ sense 3
Both 豚 and デブ are offensive insults for a fat person, but デブ only ever means the insult and never the animal.

Don't confuse with

イノシシ sense 1
豚 is the domesticated pig raised for food, while 猪 is the wild boar living in the mountains.

Counted with

頭とうN3
For large animals (horses, cattle, large dogs) and animals counted as livestock or specimens.
匹ひきN3
The general counter for small and medium animals — dogs, cats, fish, insects; large animals take 頭.

Word family· 45

豚ぶた肉にくN5
pork
酢す豚ぶた
sweet-and-sour pork
豚ぶたまん
steamed pork bun
ブタクサ
common ragweed; annual ragweed

Written forms

豚ぶたUsage73%
Standard common kanji spelling for the animal, pork, and the derogatory extension.
ブタUsage23%
kana-only spelling
Attested kana-only katakana spelling; often used for the animal as a species name, and also as a stylistic spelling in casual or insulting uses.
ぶたUsage4%
豕ぶた
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; useful mainly for recognition or search, not normal modern writing.

Etymology

The historical derivation of the reading ぶた is uncertain here. 豚 is the standard kanji spelling associated with the domestic pig, while 豕 is a rare kanji form related to pig or boar in kanji usage.

焼やき豚ぶた

roast pork; char siu · baseball fan; baseball nut

Show 9 more

ツチブタ
aardvark
塩しお豚ぶた
salted pork; ham
子こ豚ぶた
piglet
島しま豚ぶた
Okinawan pig breed
イノブタ
boar-pig hybrid; wild boar and domestic pig crossbreed
白しろ豚ぶた
white pig · white person
豚ぶた串くし
pork skewer; grilled skewered pork
豚ぶた丼どん
pork donburi; rice bowl with pork
豚ぶた熱ねつ
hog cholera; swine fever

See all 45 in Explore →