餌えさ

also: え

え

さ

Common wordJLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

noun

animal feed; pet food; fodder

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

2

noun

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

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%

飼し料りょう
More formal term for animal feed, often used in agricultural contexts.
餌え付づけ
The act of feeding animals to tame them or attract them to a certain area.

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