Chinese

Noun

壁蝨

1. tick
2. bedbug

Synonyms

• (tick): 蜱 (pí), 蝨子／虱子 (shīzi)
• (bedbug): 臭蟲／臭虫 (chòuchóng), 床蝨／床虱 (chuángshī), 蜰蟲／蜰虫 (féichóng)

Japanese

壁蝨 (dani): a tick.

壁蝨 (dani): a clover mite.

Etymology

/tani/ → /dani/

From Old Japanese. Shift from earlier reading tani.^[1][2] This reading persists in some modern dialects.

The kanji spelling is unrelated to the reading, and appears to be a case of semantic ateji or jukujikun. The characters literally mean 壁 ‎(“wall”) + 蝨 ‎(“louse”), possibly as an indication that ticks and mites may be found on walls.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) だに​ [dàníꜜ] (Odaka - [2])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [dã̠ni]

Alternative forms

• 蜱, 蟎

Noun

壁蝨 ‎(hiragana だに, katakana ダニ, romaji dani)

1. a tick, a mite: any of various small parasitic arachnids of subclass Acari
2. (derogatory, figuratively) a parasite, a layabout, a moocher: someone who lives off of other people

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana in biological contexts, as ダニ.

Derived terms

References

1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9