よだれ（よだれ、yodare）
- drool

The Japanese word よだれ refers to saliva, or more specifically, drool. It is the liquid that forms in the mouth and can spill out, often unintentionally. It's often associated with being hungry, tired, or asleep.

⚫︎ 赤ちゃんがよだれをたくさん垂らしている。 Translation: The baby is drooling a lot. ⚫︎ おいしそうな食べ物を見て、よだれが出た。 Translation: I started to drool when I saw the delicious-looking food. ⚫︎ 眠くて、ついよだれが出てしまった。 Translation: I was sleepy and I accidentally drooled.

You use よだれ when talking about saliva that is unintentionally coming out of the mouth. It's usually used in situations where someone is sleeping, very hungry, or sometimes feeling unwell. It can also describe the physical act of drooling.

よだれ is typically written in hiragana. It is not commonly written with kanji. There are no variations in okurigana.

There are no direct synonyms for よだれ in common usage that specifically refer to drool. However, in some contexts, words like 唾液 (だえき) which means saliva in general could be used, but よだれ has a more informal nuance.

There aren't really antonyms for よだれ as it describes a physical state or action.

犬は肉を見たら、よだれをたくさん出した。 ・Translation: The dog drooled a lot when it saw the meat. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the dog's physical reaction to seeing food it wanted.

疲れて、授業中についよだれが垂れてしまった。 ・Translation: I got tired, and I accidentally drooled in class. ・Explanation: This sentence describes someone unintentionally drooling due to tiredness.

The etymology of よだれ is not definitively known, but it is believed to be a compound word. It likely originated from the combination of words related to bodily fluids and excretion. The first part, よ, might be related to other words describing bodily fluids. The だれ part refers to the act of dripping or flowing.