よつばい

Japanese

Alternative spelling
四つ這い

Etymology

From 四つ (yotsu, “four”) +‎ 這い (hai, “crawling”, 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 這(は)う (hau, “to crawl”)).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) よつばい [yòtsúbáí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [jo̞t͡sɨᵝba̠i]

Noun

よつばい • (yotsubai) ^{←よつばひ (yotubafi)?}

1. being on all fours

Synonyms

• 四(よ)つん這(ば)い (yotsunbai)