虫歯
Japanese edit
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 虫 | 歯 |
| むし Grade: 1 |
は > ば Grade: 3 |
| kun’yomi | |
| Alternative spelling |
|---|
| 蟲齒 (kyūjitai) |
Etymology edit
Compound of 虫 (mushi, “worm, bug”) + 歯 (ha, “tooth”).[1][2] The ha changes to ba as an instance of rendaku (連濁).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
- a bad tooth, dental caries, a cavity
Synonyms edit
- 虫齧歯 (mushikameba)
- 虫食い (mushikui)
- 虫食い歯 (mushikuiba)
- 齲歯 (ushi)
- 齲蝕 (ushoku)