8.8. Invertebrates
8.8.1. Molluscs
All of the molluscs listed here except snails are edible. (Escargots are not so popular in Japan.)
たこ
ta ko
octopus
いか
i ka
squid
はまぐり
ha ma gu ri
clam
あさり
a sa ri
short-necked clam
For your interest: This is the most popular shellfish in Japan.
しじみ
si zi mi
corbicula
For your interest: Corbicula are small shellfish often used for miso soup.
ほたて
ho ta te
scallop
かき
ka ki
oyster
Note: This word has a different accent from persimmon.
The five words above are all かい /ka' i/ "kai" (shellfish).
かたつむり
ka ta tu mu ri
snail
8.8.2. Crustaceans
かに
ka ni
crab
えび
e bi
shrimp, lobster
8.8.3. Insects
Japanese has many words for むし "musi" (insect) because insect's sound is as evaluated as bird's song. There are not always good English translations.
かぶとむし
ka bu to mu si
beetle (found in forests)
Note: This word is used only for beetles with a big horn found in forests. It is the combination of かぶと "kabuto" (warrior's helm) and むし "musi" (insect). The English word beetle has much wider meaning.
くわがた
ku wa ga ta
stag beetle
For your interest: かぶとむし "kabutomusi" and くわがた "kuwagata" are so evaluated as pets in Japan that one beetle can cost 50,000 yen.
こおろぎ
kô ro gi
cricket
きりぎりす
ki ri gi ri su
a kind of grasshopper
せみ
se mi
cicada
For your interest: Cicadas are very common in the summer in Japan. There are many kinds of cicada such as あぶらぜみ "aburazemi", みんみんぜみ "minminzemi", ひぐらし "higurasi", and つくつくぼうし "tukutukubôsi". Most Japanese people can distinguish them by hearing their sound.
ちょう
tyô
butterfly
Note: The word ちょうちょ "tyôtyo" also means butterfly. It is better when you want to avoid confusion with the word for intestines.
が
ga
moth
とんぼ
to n bo
dragonfly
あり
a ri
ant
はえ
ha e
fly
か
ka
mosquito
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- This article is part 46 of 49 in the series Teach Yourself Japanese.
Series TOC
- Series: Teach Yourself Japanese
- Part 1: Teach Yourself Japanese
- Part 2: Introduction to Japanese
- Part 3: Romanization, phonemes, and morae
- Part 4: Grammatical terms
- Part 5: Hiragana for vowels
- Part 6: Hiragana for k/g + vowels
- Part 7: Hiragana for s/z + vowels
- Part 8: Hiragana for t/d + vowels
- Part 9: Hiragana for n + vowels
- Part 10: Hiragana for h/b/p + vowels
- Part 11: Hiragana for m + vowels
- Part 12: Hiragana for y + vowels
- Part 13: Hiragana for r + vowels
- Part 14: Hiragana for w + vowels
- Part 15: Hiragana for /N/, /Q/, and /H/
- Part 16: Double hiragana for consonants + y + vowels
- Part 17: Hiragana only for imported words
- Part 18: Romanized Japanese in English
- Part 19: Hiragana table
- Part 20: Hiragana shapes
- Part 21: Katakana table
- Part 22: Katakana shapes
- Part 23: Punctuation
- Part 24: Small numbers
- Part 25: Large numbers
- Part 26: Counters
- Part 27: Decimals and fractions
- Part 28: The months and the days
- Part 29: Greetings
- Part 30: Cases and postpositions
- Part 31: Topics and focuses
- Part 32: Verbs
- Part 33: Copula
- Part 34: Adjectives
- Part 35: Relative clauses
- Part 36: Negative forms
- Part 37: Emotion markers
- Part 38: Questions
- Part 39: Pronouns
- Part 40: Demonstratives
- Part 41: Body parts
- Part 42: Kinship
- Part 43: Colors
- Part 44: Space-time
- Part 45: Vertebrates
- Part 46: Invertebrates
- Part 47: Plants
- Part 48: Dialogue 1
- Part 49: Dialogue 2
- This article is part 46 of 49 in the series Teach Yourself Japanese.
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