火鼠

Chinese

		fire; angry; fierce fire; angry; fierce; fiery; thriving	rat; mouse
trad. (火鼠)		火	鼠
simp. #(火鼠)		火	鼠

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): huǒshǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄨㄛˇ ㄕㄨˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fo² syu²
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hóe-chhí / hé-chhú

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: huǒshǔ [Phonetic: huóshǔ]
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄨㄛˇ ㄕㄨˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: huǒshǔ
    • Wade–Giles: huo³-shu³
    • Yale: hwǒ-shǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: huooshuu
    • Palladius: хошу (xošu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: fo² syu²
    • Yale: fó syú
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fo² sy²
    • Guangdong Romanization: fo² xu²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɔː³⁵ syː³⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Kaohsiung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hóe-chhí
    • Tâi-lô: hué-tshí
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hoefchie
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hue⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ t͡sʰi⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: Taipei)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hé-chhú
    • Tâi-lô: hé-tshú
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hefzhuo
    • IPA (Taipei): /he⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sʰu⁵³/

Noun

火鼠

1. (Chinese mythology) fire rat or mouse (a mythological creature)
2. (Taiwanese Hokkien) squirrel

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 松鼠 (“squirrel”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		松鼠, 栗鼠, 灰鼠
Taxonomic name		松鼠
Mandarin	Beijing	松鼠兒
	Taiwan	松鼠
	Wanrong	圪獵
	Xi'an	毛老鼠
	Lanzhou	𦎠𦎑貓
	Guiyang	松鼠
	Guilin	松鼠
	Singapore	松鼠
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	樹吊, 上樹吊
	Masanchin (Shaanxi Dungan)	𦎠𦎑貓
	Kokang	貂鼠
Cantonese	Hong Kong	松鼠
Hakka	Liancheng (Juxi)	搬家老鼠
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	膨尾鼠
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	膨尾鼠
	Pingtung (Wuluo, Ligang; S. Sixian)	膨鼠
	Kaohsiung (Meinong; S. Sixian)	大尾鼠
	Kaohsiung (Shanlin; S. Sixian)	膨鼠
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	膨尾鼠
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	膨尾鼠
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	膨尾鼠
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	膨鼠
Jin	Taiyuan	圪猁
	Pingyao	圪猁
	Xinzhou	圪猁
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	胡鼠, 松鼠
Southern Min	Xiamen	膨鼠, 松鼠
	Taipei (Wanhua)	膨鼠
	New Taipei (Tamsui)	膨鼠
	New Taipei (Pingxi)	膨尾鼠
	Kaohsiung	膨鼠
	Kaohsiung (Cijin)	膨鼠
	Kaohsiung (Dalinpu, Siaogang)	膨鼠
	Yilan	膨鼠
	Yilan (Toucheng)	膨鼠
	Changhua (Lukang)	膨鼠
	Taichung	膨鼠
	Taichung (Wuqi)	膨鼠
	Tainan	膨鼠
	Tainan (Anping)	膨鼠
	Taitung	膨鼠
	Hsinchu	膨鼠
	Penghu (Magong)	膨鼠
	Penghu (Xiyu)	膨鼠
	Penang (Hokkien)	膨鼠
	Singapore (Hokkien)	膨鼠, 飛鼠
	Medan (Hokkien)	膨毛鼠
	Singapore (Teochew)	杜排
Puxian Min	Putian	田家老鼠
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	松鼠
Wu	Shanghai	松鼠
Xiang	Changsha	松鼠

Japanese

FWOTD – 20 April 2014

Etymology 1

火鼠 (hinezumi, kaso): woodblock print from the Wakan Sansai Zue (和漢三才図会)

Kanji in this term
火	鼠
ひ Grade: 1	ねずみ Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

Compound of Old Japanese elements 火 (hi, “fire”) +‎ 鼠 (nezumi, “rat, mouse”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ひね​ずみ [hìnéꜜzùmì] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [çine̞zɨᵝmʲi]

Noun

火(ひ)鼠(ねずみ) • (hinezumi) 

1. a fire-rat: an imaginary creature of ancient China resembling a white rat, thought to live in the volcanoes of the South China Sea and to have fireproof fur
   • 10th century: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

     唐土にある、火鼠の裘を給へ

     もろこしにある、ひねずみのかわごろもをたまえ

     Morokoshi ni aru, hinezumi no kawagoromo o tamae

     Get me the fur robe of the fire-rat in China...

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 火鼠(ひねずみ)の皮衣(かわごろも) (hinezumi no kawagoromo): asbestos cloth (literally, “fire-rat's fur robe”)
• 火鼠(ひねずみ)の皮衣(かわぎぬ) (hinezumi no kawaginu): asbestos cloth (literally, “fire-rat's fur robe”)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
火	鼠
か Grade: 1	そ Hyōgaiji
on’yomi

/kwaso/ → /kaso/

From Middle Chinese compound 火鼠 (MC xwaX syoX, literally “fire rat”). Date of borrowing unknown.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) か​そ [káꜜsò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ka̠so̞]

Noun

火(か)鼠(そ) • (kaso) ^{←くわそ (kwaso)?}

1. a fire-rat (see above)

Usage notes

The hinezumi reading is more common.