1.
caterpillar
A hairless, thick-bodied caterpillar, typically of a moth or butterfly. The word specifically refers to the plump, smooth type (not hairy caterpillars, which are called 毛虫). Originally named for caterpillars found on sweet potato plants.
葉っぱに芋虫がいた。
There was a caterpillar on a leaf.
芋虫はやがて蝶になる。
A caterpillar eventually becomes a butterfly.
庭のキャベツを見たら、芋虫がたくさんついていた。
When I looked at the cabbages in the garden, there were a lot of caterpillars on them.
USAGE:
芋虫 refers specifically to smooth, hairless caterpillars. Hairy caterpillars are called 毛虫. The name comes from 芋 (sweet potato/taro) + 虫 (insect), as these caterpillars were commonly found on potato plants.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 芋虫が這う: a caterpillar crawls
- 芋虫が蛹になる: a caterpillar becomes a chrysalis
- 青い芋虫: a green caterpillar