餌えさ

also: え

え

さ

Common wordJLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

animal feed; pet food; fodder

Food given to animals, livestock, or pets. Covers everything from hay to commercial pet food.

Used for fishing bait, traps, or figuratively as an enticement to lure someone into a situation.

〈動どう物ぶつ〉に餌えさをやるto feed an animal
毎まい朝あさ、金きん魚ぎょに餌えさをやっている。
I feed my goldfish every morning.
餌えさに食くいつくto bite the bait
魚さかなが餌えさに食くいついた。
The fish bit the bait.
〈人ひと〉を餌えさにするto use someone/something as bait to lure a target
彼かれは割わり引びきを餌えさにして客きゃくを集あつめた。
He used discounts as bait to attract customers.
餌えさをまくto scatter feed or bait
池いけに鯉こいの餌えさをまいた。
I scattered feed for the carp in the pond.

飼し料りょう sense 1
飼料 is the formal, agricultural term for animal feed, while 餌 is the everyday word used for pet food, bait, and fodder alike.
おとり sense 2
囮 is a decoy or lure used to trap someone or something, while 餌 more broadly means bait, including literal fishing bait.
ペットフード sense 1
ペットフード refers specifically to commercial pet food, while 餌 is a broader everyday word covering any food given to animals.
餌え食じき sense 2
餌食 means 'prey' or 'victim,' describing the target that falls for the 餌 (bait or enticement).
ルアー
餌 is natural bait (live or dead organisms) used to attract fish, while ルアー is an artificial lure that mimics prey.

餌え食じき
餌 just means bait or feed given to an animal, while 餌食 means the creature or person that ends up being consumed or victimized.

餌Usage46%
- えさ
  Standard kanji spelling for both animal feed and bait senses.
- え
  Short reading え is less common and may appear in compounds or literary contexts.
エサUsage28%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is sometimes used for emphasis or in informal contexts.
えさUsage14%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is not needed.
えUsage12%

The kanji 餌 is composed of 食 (eat) and 耳 (ear), but the historical derivation is uncertain. The word is native Japanese.