3
ビー玉

Marble


Meaning

Marble

Word Type

noun

Explanation

When you see a katakana word, it's a safe bet that it is a foreign loan word from somewhere else. This one's interesting, because it combines katakana and kanji! The first marble came to Japan from Portugal, so the ビー part of the word is short for "vidro," which means "glass" in Portuguese. Anyway, don't get thrown off by that ビー. Maybe just imagine that your favorite marble is black and yellow like a bee.


Reading

びーだま, ビーだま

Explanation

If you know katakana as well as the reading that you learned when you learned the kanji 玉, you should be able to read this. Just watch out for the rendaku.


Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • ラムネのビー玉

    the marble in a "Ramune" soft drink

    ガラスのビー玉

    glass marbles

    大きめのビー玉

    large marbles

  • ビー玉がおちる

    the marbles drop

    ビー玉が入っている

    there are marbles in it

    ビー玉がころがる

    the marbles roll

  • ビー玉をころがす

    to roll marbles

    ビー玉をいれる

    to put marbles in something

    ビー玉をつかう

    to use marbles

Context Sentences

ビー玉は小さい丸い玉です。

Marbles are small, round balls.

二月三日に大きなビー玉のレースがあります。

There is a big marble race on February 3rd.

ママの目玉、ビー玉みたいできれいだね。

Mom, your eyeball is beautiful like a marble.


Kanji Composition