小夜鳴き鳥

Japanese

Kanji in this term
小	夜	鳴	鳥
さ Grade: 1	よ Grade: 2	な Grade: 2	とり > どり Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alternative forms

• 小夜鳴鳥

Etymology

From 小夜 (sayo, “evening”) +‎ 鳴き (naki, stem of 鳴く (naku, “to sing; to chirp”)) +‎ 鳥 (tori, “bird”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) さよなき​どり [sàyó nákíꜜdòrì] (Nakadaka – [4])
• IPA^(key): [sa̠jo̞ na̠kʲido̞ɾʲi]

Noun

小(さ)夜(よ)鳴(な)き鳥(どり) or 小夜鳴(サヨナ)き鳥(ドリ) • (sayo nakidori) 

1. a common nightingale

   Synonyms: ナイチンゲール (naichingēru), 夜鳴き鶯 (yonakiuguisu)

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as サヨナキドリ.