唾
つば
saliva; spit; sputum
By Nihongo PathUpdated
Examples
道に唾を吐いてはいけない。
みちにつばをはいてはいけない。
You mustn't spit in the street.
吐いた唾は飲めぬ。
はいたつばはのめぬ。
A word once spoken cannot be taken back.
おいしそうな匂いに唾が出てきた。
おいしそうなにおいにつばがでてきた。
The delicious smell made my mouth water.
Common patterns
- 唾を吐く
- to spit
- 唾を飲み込む
- to swallow (nervously)
- 眉唾もの
- something dubious; a tall story
Memory tip
The plain spoken word; the clinical term is 唾液 (だえき). Two idioms to know: 眉唾もの, something not to be believed, and 唾をつける, to stake an early claim on something.
Kanji in this word
- 唾Not in the N5–N1 kanji lists
Quick check
1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5
What does 唾 mean?