ウイルス

• Reading: ウイルス
• Romaji: uirusu
• Pronunciation: /ɯ.i.ɾɯ.sɯ/

Meaning

Virus. A microscopic infectious agent that replicates inside living cells.

A katakana loanword from German 'Virus' (not English). Used for both biological viruses and computer viruses. Common collocations include ウイルスに感染する (to be infected with a virus) and ウイルス対策 (antivirus measures). Sometimes written as ウィルス, but ウイルス is the standard spelling.

Examples

1. この季節はウイルスが広がりやすい。 Viruses spread easily during this season.
2. パソコンがウイルスに感染してしまった。 My computer got infected with a virus.
3. ウイルス対策のソフトを入れた方がいい。 You should install antivirus software.

Usage Guide

Context: health, technology, news

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

Borrowed from German 'Virus' in the early 20th century when Japan adopted much of its medical terminology from German medicine. The German pronunciation led to the Japanese rendering ウイルス rather than ヴァイラス.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal