蟻

Glyph origin
.

Etymology
From.

Definitions

 * 1) ant
 * 2)  foam or sediment in wine; lees
 * 3)  humble; inconsiderable
 * 4)  black
 * 5)  in an assembled manner
 * 1)  in an assembled manner

Kanji

 * 1) ant

Etymology 1
. From, but the ultimate derivation remains a mystery. There are potentially interesting similarities to 🇨🇬 and, but evidence is lacking.

Noun

 * 1) ant

Idioms

 * : “not even a crack wide enough for an ant to crawl through” → without a gap, close, tight
 * ,, , , : “an ants' pilgrimage to Kumano / Ise / the hundred shrines and temples / the temples / the holy sites” → a metaphor likening ants in single file to a procession of pilgrims; alternately, a metaphor for a large group of people moving in single file
 * : “a single ant-hole” → a metaphor for the way a tiny thing can cause grave consequences; compare a stitch in time saves nine
 * , : “even a dike can fall apart due to an ant-hole” → a metaphor for the way a tiny thing can cause grave consequences; compare a stitch in time saves nine
 * : “just like ants drawn to a sweet” → a metaphor for the way that people are drawn to profitable things; compare like a moth to a flame, of nearly opposite meaning
 * , : “even an ant's thoughts can reach / rise to the heavens” → no matter how humble or lowly, if one tries hard enough, one's wishes can still be heard by the gods in heaven; compare where there's a will, there's a way
 * : “just like building an ant tower [anthill]” → even great deeds can be accomplished through patient work; compare a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

Derived terms

 * : an “ant tower” → an anthill
 * : an anthill
 * : a kind of seaberry,
 * : the seaberry family,
 * : an ant, particularly one without wings; an ant egg or larva

Etymology 2
From. Compare modern 🇨🇬 reading ngai5.

Affix

 * 1) ant

Usage notes

 * This reading is only found in compounds. When the character is used on its own, it is always read as the of ari.

Derived terms

 * : a group of ants
 * : a narrow road or path (from the way that ants tend to travel in single file)
 * : an anthill, a hole dug by ants; a very small fault or mistake
 * : a silkworm that has just hatched from its egg (from the superficial similarity to an ant)
 * : formic acid
 * : formate
 * , : a large grouping, as of many ants
 * : formication: a feeling as of many bugs crawling on one's skin
 * : a large grouping or gathering of people, much as ants will gather around something sweet
 * : an anthill
 * : “ant-weight”: the weight of a silkworm just after hatching from its egg (see above)
 * : an anthill

Etymology 3
Compound of.

Noun

 * 1)  an ant, particularly one without wings
 * 2)  an ant egg or larva
 * 1)  an ant egg or larva
 * 1)  an ant egg or larva

Usage notes

 * The spelling of 蟻 for ari no ko is generally only seen in old texts. In modern Japanese, this term is much more commonly spelled as.

Etymology
Cognate with 🇨🇬.

Noun

 * 1) ant

Etymology
From.

Etymology
Cognate with 🇨🇬.

Noun

 * 1) ant

Etymology
Cognate with 🇨🇬.

Noun

 * 1) ant

Etymology
Cognate with 🇨🇬.

Noun

 * 1) ant

Etymology
Cognate with 🇨🇬.

Noun

 * 1) ant

Etymology
Cognate with 🇨🇬.

Noun

 * 1) ant