細菌(さいきん)

さいきん
noun
bacteria, germ
1. bacteria, germ, microbe
Microscopic single-celled organisms. Used in both scientific contexts and everyday language when talking about hygiene, illness, and food safety.
細菌(さいきん)が繁殖(はんしょく)する。
Bacteria multiply.
手(て)を洗(あら)わないと細菌(さいきん)がつく。
If you don't wash your hands, germs will get on them.
この食中毒(しょくちゅうどく)は細菌(さいきん)が原因(げんいん)だと判明(はんめい)した。
It was determined that bacteria were the cause of this food poisoning.

USAGE:
A technical term used in both scientific and everyday contexts. Unlike the homophone 最近(さいきん) (recently), this word is written with different kanji and belongs to a completely different semantic field.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 細菌(さいきん)が繁殖(はんしょく)する: bacteria multiply
  • 細菌(さいきん)に感染(かんせん)する: to be infected with bacteria
  • 細菌(さいきん)検査(けんさ): bacterial testing
  • 細菌(さいきん)を殺(ころ)す: to kill germs

SIMILAR WORDS:
ウイルス (virus) refers to a different type of pathogen. 細菌(さいきん) are living organisms that can be treated with antibiotics, whereas ウイルス cannot.

general
Added 2026.2.27 13:10
13500/13791_saikin