鰐

See also 鳄

Translingual

Han character

鰐 (radical 195 魚+9, 20 strokes, cangjie input 弓火口口尸 (NFRRS))

1. alligator

References

• KangXi: page 1475, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 46337
• Dae Jaweon: page 2006, character 28
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 7, page 4701, character 18
• Unihan data for U+9C10

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Japanese

Kanji

鰐 (uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji)

1. alligator, crocodile
2. a shark or other large dangerous fish

Readings

• On: がく (gaku)
• Kun: わに (wani)

Compounds

Compounds

鰐魚 (がくぎょ, gakugyo): crocodilian; large, dangerous fish 鰐口 (わにぐち, waniguchi): a crocodile's or alligator's mouth; a terrible rumor; someone with a physically large mouth; a wide bronze bell rung with a rope and hung at shrines; part of a Japanese saddle; (slang) the female genitalia; (slang) a coin purse 鰐口草 (わにぐちそう, waniguchi sō): a perennial plant in the lily family, possibly related to Polygonatum 鰐鮫 (わにざめ, wanizame): an alligator or crocodile; a shark or other large dangerous fish 鰐千鳥 (わにちどり, wani chidori): the crocodile bird or Egyptian plover, Pluvianus aegyptius 鰐足 (わにあし, wani ashi): knock knees, bowlegs 鰐皮 (わにがわ, wanigawa): crocodile or alligator skin or hide 鰐淵寺 (がくえんじ, Gakuenji): a Tiantai Buddhist temple in Shimane Prefecture 鰐鱶 (わにぶか, wanibuka): an alligator or crocodile; a shark or other large dangerous fish

Etymology

Wikipedia ^ja

Wikipedia Wikipedia

鰐

From Old Japanese, mentioned in the Kojiki. Derivation uncertain. The senses of alligator and crocodile are relatively modern, given the lack of any such animals in Japan. Formerly referred to sharks and other large dangerous fish.

Various theories exist regarding the term's origin, such as an alteration of 鬼 (oni, “demon, devil”), an abbreviation of 海主 (watanushi, “sea master, sea god”), or of 割れ醜い (warenikui, “hate to see it open”) in reference to the mouth, or even a borrowing from the Orok language of Hokkaidō and Sakhalin of the word bāni, purportedly originally meaning seal.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA: /wani/

Noun

鰐 (hiragana わに, romaji wani)

1. an alligator, a crocodile
2. (obsolete) a shark or other large and dangerous fish
   • 898-901: Shinsen Jikyō (volume 9 page 2)

     鳄 五各反 和尓

Derived terms

• 鰐の口 (わにのくち, wani no kuchi): "the alligator's mouth" → an extremely dangerous place or situation

Idioms

• 鰐の口を逃れる (わにのくちをのがれる, wani no kuchi o nogareru): "to escape the alligator's mouth" → to escape an extremely dangerous place or situation

References

• 1967 December 15 [898-901], Shōjū; Kyōto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokugogaku Kokubungaku Kenkyūshitu, Shinsen Jikyō (Zōteiban) (in Japanese), Kyōto: Rinsen, ISBN 4-653-00029-8:

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Korean

Hanja

鰐 (hangeul 악, revised ak, McCune-Reischauer ak, Yale ak)

1. (악어) crocodile, alligator

Synonyms

• 鱷 (악, ag)

Compounds

• 鰐魚 (악어, ag-eo) crocodile, alligator

See also

• 鯢 (예, ye) salamander

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Mandarin

Hanzi

鰐 (simplified 鳄, pinyin è (e4), xǐ (xi3), Wade-Giles o⁴, hsi³)