つば
つば
noun
saliva, spit
1.
saliva, spit
The liquid produced in the mouth. A basic word that Japanese children learn early but which may not appear in formal textbooks.
つばを吐くな。
Don't spit.
つばが飛んだ。
Spit flew (from someone's mouth).
緊張してつばを飲み込んだ。
I was nervous and swallowed my saliva.
KANJI: Can be written as 唾.
COMMON EXPRESSIONS:
- つばを吐く (to spit)
- つばを飲む (to swallow one's saliva - often from nervousness or anticipation)
- つばが飛ぶ (spit flies - when speaking emphatically)
- つばをつける (to put one's spit on - to claim something, like licking food to claim it)
IDIOM: 眉につばをつける (to put spit on one's eyebrows) means to be skeptical, based on a belief that this protected against fox possession.
FORMAL TERM: 唾液 is the formal/medical term for saliva.