Phrase guide

Job's tears

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈd͡ʒəʊbz.tɪə(ɹ)z/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A tall grain-bearing perennial tropical plant of the species Coix lacryma-jobi (family Poaceae), native to southeast Asia.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: plural, plural-only

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: adlay, adlay millet, coix seed, gromwell grass, tear grass

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

hard pearly seeds of an Asiatic grass; often used as beads

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: seed

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

38 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: دَمْع أَيُّوب (damʕ ʔayyūb) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Burmese: ကျိတ်ပင် (kyitpang) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Catalan: llàgrimes de Job — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Cherokee: ᏎᎷ ᎤᏂᏥ (selu unitsi) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Chinese Mandarin: 薏苡 (yìyǐ) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Fijian: sila — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Finnish: jobinkyynelheinä — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • German: Hiobsträne — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • German: Hiobstränengras — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Hawaiian: pūʻoheʻohe — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Hawaiian: ʻoheʻohe — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Japanese: 数珠玉 (juzudama) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Japanese: 薏苡 (yokui) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Khmer: ស្កួយ (skuəy) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Korean: 염주 (yeomju) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Korean: 율무 (yulmu) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Malay: jelai — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Malay: enjelai — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Māori: tangatanga — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Maranao: delay — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Mizo: mîm — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Khiamniungan Naga: lǖnyàk — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Persian: اشک روباه (ašk rubâh) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Persian: شال تسبیح (šâl tasbih) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Polish: łzawnica ogrodowa — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Russian: бу́сенник обыкнове́нный (búsennik obyknovénnyj) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Russian: ио́влевы слёзы (ióvlevy sljózy) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Samoan: sanasana — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Samoan: sagasaga — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Tagalog: abukay — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Tahitian: poepoe — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Thai: เดือย (dʉai) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Tongan: hana — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Ukrainian: бусеннік звичайний (busennik zvyčajnyj) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Ukrainian: сльо́зи Іова (slʹózy Iova) — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Vietnamese: bo bo — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Vietnamese: ý dĩ — Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Vietnamese: cườm thảo — Coix lacryma-jobi