蜉蝣

Chinese

Ephemera strigata
simp. and trad.
(蜉蝣)		 蜉 蝣

Pronunciation

Noun

蜉蝣

  1. mayfly

Japanese

蜉蝣 (kagerō, fuyū): a mayfly.

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
蜉 蝣
Hyōgaiji Hyōgaiji
Irregular

Change in meaning from 陽炎 (kagerō, “heat haze, heat shimmer”), from the way that the insects fly in swarms that visually resemble heat haze.[1] The kanji is jukujikun (熟字訓), from Chinese 蜉蝣.

Pronunciation

Noun

蜉蝣 (hiragana かげろう, katakana カゲロウ, rōmaji kagerō, historical hiragana かげろふ)

  1. a mayfly
  2. (obsolete) Synonym of 蜻蛉 (tonbo, “dragonfly”)
Usage notes

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

Idioms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
蜉 蝣
Hyōgaiji Hyōgaiji
Irregular

Change in meaning from 陽炎 (kagirō, “heat haze, heat shimmer”), from the way that the insects fly in swarms that visually resemble heat haze.[1]

Obsolete reading.

Noun

蜉蝣 (hiragana かぎろう, rōmaji kagirō, historical hiragana かぎろふ)

  1. (obsolete) Synonym of 蜻蛉 (tonbo, “dragonfly”)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
蜉 蝣
ふ
Hyōgaiji		 ゆう
Hyōgaiji
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 蜉蝣 (bjuw yuw?). Compare Mandarin 蜉蝣 (fúyóu), Vietnamese phù du.

Pronunciation

Noun

蜉蝣 (hiragana ふゆう, rōmaji fuyū, historical hiragana ふいう)

  1. a mayfly
  2. (by extension) ephemerality (from the way that mayflies are born and die within a day)
Idioms

References

  1. 1 2 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1 2 3 4 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 1 2 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
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