Vertebrates

8.7. Vertebrates

8.7.1. The Chinese zodiac

You might have heard of the Chinese zodiac. Each year is associated to one of the twelve animals in Chinese custom, and it is used mainly for fortune-telling. Japanese people also know the twelve animals, whether they believe fortune-telling or not. You can calculate the animal of the year when you were born. The year 1996 is associated to the first animal rat, 1997 is to the ox, 1998 is to the tiger, and so on. I was born in 1970, the year of the dog. This order doesn't mean order of importance at all.

Order

Animal

Description


ne	zu	mi

Rat, mouse.


u	si

Ox, cow.


to	ra

Tiger.


u	sa	gi

Rabbit, hare.


ryû

Dragon. This is an imaginary animal, of course. The word

"tatu" also means the dragon and is more commonly used for the year of the dragon.


he	bi

Snake.


u	ma

Horse.


hi	tu	zi

Sheep. In China, the year of the goat (

"yagi" in Japanese) is used instead of the sheep.


sa	ru

Monkey.


ni	wa	to	ri

Chicken. The word

LH "niwa" means yard, and

"tori" means bird. The latter is more commonly used for the year of the chicken than


i	nu

Dog.


i	no	si	si

Wild boar. In China, the year of the pig (

"buta" in Japanese) is used instead of the wild boar.

8.7.2. Mammals


ta	nu	ki
raccoon dog

Note: Raccoon dogs are animals of the dog family native to Japan that look like raccoons. They often appear in fairy tales as mischievous animals with magic power. They are often described to be stupid.


ki	tu	ne
fox

Note: Foxes often appear in fairy tales as sly animals with magic power.


ô	ka	mi
wolf

Note: Coming from the adjective

"ôkii" (big) and the noun

"kami" (god), this word literally means great god. Wolves were not considered evil in Japanese culture. Wolves went extinct a few hundred years ago in Japan.


ra	i	o	n
lion

Note: Since this is an imported word, katakana are used. Japanese doesn't have the sound of English "l", so it is changed to Japanese "r".


hyô
panther


ku	ma
bear


si	ka
deer


zô
elephant


ki	ri	n
giraffe


sa	i
rhinoceros


ka	ba
hippopotamus


ra	ku	da
camel


ku	zi	ra
whale


i	ru	ka
dolphin


a	si	ka
sea lion


a	za	ra	si
seal

8.7.3. Birds


ka	ra	su
crow, raven


ha	to
pigeon, dove


su	zu	me
sparrow


tu	ba	me
swallow


u	gu	i	su
Japanese nightingale

Note: Japanese nightingales are diurnal birds found in the spring.


ki	zi
pheasant

For your interest: The pheasant is the symbol bird of Japan. They are so rare now that people scarcely see a wild pheasant.


ka	mo
wild duck


a	hi	ru
domestic duck


ga	chô
goose


i	n	ko
macaw, parrakeet


ô		mu
parrot


ka	mo	me
sea gull

8.7.4. Reptiles and amphibians


ka	me
tortoise


wa	ni
crocodile


to	ka	ge
lizard


ka	e	ru
frog

8.7.5. Fish

Japan is famous for sea food, and probably Japanese has more words for

LHH "sakana" (fish) than any other language. The translation of the words listed here is not precise because English doesn't have many words for fish.

You can eat all of these fish. (I can't. I'm an unlucky Japanese allergic to fish and I get stomachache after eating fish!)


ma	gu	ro
tuna


u	na	gi
eel


sa	n	ma
mackerel pike


a	zi
horse mackerel


bu	ri
yellowtail


hu	gu
fugu (balloonfish)

For your interest: The fugu is delicious white-meat fish, but eating it can be dangerous because it has deadly poison. You need a license to cook fugu in Japan.


sa	ke
salmon


sa	me
shark

For your interest: Few Japanese people eat shark, except for Chinese shark fin soup, which is one of the three finest Chinese cuisines. (The other two are bird's nest soup and sea cucumber.) The word

"huka" also means shark, and it is more often used for shark fins for the soup.

Go to the previous page
Go to the next page
Return to the index