蜻蛉(とんぼ)

とんぼ
noun
dragonfly
animal-insect
1. dragonfly
A flying insect with a long body and two pairs of transparent wings.
赤(あか)い蜻蛉(とんぼ)が飛(と)んでいる。
Red dragonflies are flying.
蜻蛉(とんぼ)を捕(つか)まえようとした。
I tried to catch a dragonfly.
秋(あき)になると赤蜻蛉(あかとんぼ)がたくさん見(み)られる。
In autumn, you can see many red dragonflies.
蜻蛉(とんぼ)が池(いけ)の上(うえ)をぐるぐる飛(と)んでいる。
Dragonflies are flying in circles above the pond.
夕方(ゆうがた)の田(た)んぼの上(うえ)を蜻蛉(とんぼ)の群(む)れが飛(と)んでいた。
A swarm of dragonflies was flying over the rice paddies at dusk.

蜻蛉(とんぼ) is associated with late summer and autumn in Japan.

Species

  • 赤蜻蛉(あかとんぼ): red dragonfly (symbol of autumn)
  • オニヤンマ: giant dragonfly
  • シオカラトンボ: common skimmer

Cultural note

  • Symbol of autumn and victory (doesn't fly backward)
  • Featured in the famous children's song '赤(あか)とんぼ'
  • Called '勝(か)ち虫(むし)' (victory insect) by samurai

Kanji note: Often written in hiragana (とんぼ). The kanji 蜻蛉(とんぼ) can also be read as 'かげろう' (mayfly).

Related Words

Related: 昆虫(こんちゅう) (insect (category))
core
Added 2026.1.16 12:26 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
05000/05204_tonbo