海豚

Chinese

ocean; sea suckling pig
simp. and trad.
(海豚)		 海 豚

Etymology

Compare English porpoise, ultimately from Vulgar Latin *porcopiscis (“porpoise”, literally “pig-fish”).

Pronunciation

Noun

海豚

  1. dolphin

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 海豚 (“dolphin”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 海豚
Taxonomic name 海豚
Mandarin Beijing 海豚
Taiwan 海豚
Cantonese Guangzhou 海豬、海豚
Hong Kong 海豚
Hakka Miaoli (N. Sixian) 海豚
Liudui (S. Sixian) 海豚
Hsinchu (Hailu) 海豚
Dongshi (Dabu) 海豚
Zhuolan (Raoping) 海豚
Yunlin (Zhao'an) 海豬
Min Nan Xiamen 白鰗、海豬、媽祖婆魚、媽祖魚、鎮港魚
Zhangzhou 白鰗、媽祖婆魚、媽祖魚、鎮港魚
Taipei 海豬仔
Kaohsiung 海豬
Tainan 海豬仔
Taichung 海豬
Hsinchu 海豬
Lukang 海豬仔
Sanxia 海豬仔
Yilan 海豬仔
Kinmen 海豬
Magong 海鼠
Chaozhou 義魚

Japanese

海豚 (iruka): a dolphin or porpoise.
Kanji in this term
海 豚
Grade: 2 Grade: S
Irregular

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unclear. One of the more likely native-Japanese theories is that this was originally a compound of Old Japanese elements 魚 (iwo, “fish”) +‎ 食 (uka, “food, something used as food”).

/iwo uka/ → /iru uka/ → /iruka/

Another possibility is that it was a borrowing from Ainu. Compare Sakhalin Ainu リク (riku), イリク (iriku), or Kuril Ainu リカ (rika, “whale”).[1]

Given the unlikely sound shift required for the Old Japanese derivation, an origin from Ainu seems more likely.

The 海豚 spelling, which literally means “sea pig”, is borrowed from Chinese.

Pronunciation

Noun

海豚 (hiragana いるか, katakana イルカ, rōmaji iruka)

  1. a dolphin or porpoise (the mammal)

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts, as イルカ.

Derived terms

See also

References

  1. ↑ 2005, Martine Robbeets (2005:190) Is Japanese Related to Korean, Tungusic, Mongolic and Turkic?
  2. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
  • 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

Kikai

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 海豚 (xojX dwon, literally “sea + pig”). Cognate with Okinawan 海豚 (fītu).

Noun

海豚 (hiragana ふぃとぅ, romaji fitu, hiragana ぴとぅ, romaji pitu)

  1. dolphin

Kunigami

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 海豚 (xojX dwon, literally “sea + pig”). Cognate with Okinawan 海豚 (fītu).

Noun

海豚 (hiragana ひーとぅい, romaji hītui)

  1. dolphin

Northern Amami-Oshima

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 海豚 (xojX dwon, literally “sea + pig”). Cognate with Okinawan 海豚 (fītu).

Noun

海豚 (hiragana ふとぅ, romaji futu)

  1. dolphin

Okinawan

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 海豚 (xojX dwon, literally “sea + pig”).

Noun

海豚 (hiragana ふぃーとぅ, romaji fītu)

  1. dolphin

Southern Amami-Oshima

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 海豚 (xojX dwon, literally “sea + pig”). Cognate with Okinawan 海豚 (fītu).

Noun

海豚 (hiragana ふとぅ, romaji futu)

  1. dolphin
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