What does 玉 mean?
玉 is a Japanese noun meaning “ball, sphere, coin” in English. It can also be translated as “bead (of sweat, dew, etc.), ball (in sports), pile (of noodles, etc.)” depending on context. It is written as 玉 in kanji, たま in hiragana, and tama in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N3 vocabulary.
Example sentences
彼の額には玉のような汗が浮かんでいた。
There were beads of sweat on his forehead.
艱難汝を玉にす。
Adversity makes a man wise, not rich.
こいつがそんな玉じゃないことなんてとうの昔に解っていたからさ。
That's because, you see, I've known he isn't that sort of person from a long time back.