蜻蛉

Chinese

		dragonfly
trad. (蜻蛉)		蜻	蛉
simp. #(蜻蛉)		蜻	蛉

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qīnglíng

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄥ ㄌㄧㄥˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cing¹ ling⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qīnglíng
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥ ㄌㄧㄥˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cinglíng
    • Wade–Giles: chʻing¹-ling²
    • Yale: chīng-líng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chingling
    • Palladius: цинлин (cinlin)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ liŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cing¹ ling⁴
    • Yale: chīng lìhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsing¹ ling⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: qing¹ ling⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ lɪŋ²¹/

Noun

蜻蛉

1. dragonfly

Derived terms

• 竹蜻蛉
• 草蜻蛉

 

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
とんぼ
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
jukujikun

Alternative spelling
蜻蜓

/toɴboː/ → /toɴbo/

Shift from earlier tonbō, shortening the final vowel. Now the most common reading of this term.

The kanji are jukujikun (熟字訓), from Chinese 蜻蛉 (qīnglíng).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) とんぼ [tòńbó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [tõ̞mbo̞]

Noun

蜻蛉(とんぼ) or 蜻蛉(トンボ) • (tonbo) 

1. dragonfly

   Synonym: (Tsugaru) だんぶり (danburi)

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 トンボ.

Derived terms

• 竹(たけ)蜻(とん)蛉(ぼ) (take tonbo): a bamboo dragonfly/bamboo-copter; a toy.
• 黄(き)蜻(とん)蛉(ぼ) (ki tonbo): a yellow darter (Sympetrum croceolum)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
とんぼう
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
jukujikun

/toubau/ → /toːbɔː/ → /toɴbɔː/ → /toɴboː/

Shift from earlier tōbō. Appears in the 康頼本草 (Yasuyori Honzō) of 995 CE.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) とんぼー [tòńbóó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [tõ̞mbo̞ː]

Noun

蜻蛉(とんぼう) or 蜻蛉(トンボー) • (tonbō) ^{←とんばう (tonbau)?}

1. dragonfly

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
とうぼう
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
jukujikun

/toubau/ → /toːbɔː/ → /toːboː/

Derivation unknown. Some theories include:

• Originally a compound of 飛ぶ (tobu, “to fly; flying”) + 棒 (bō, “stick, pole”, ancient reading bau). However, this combines a native Japanese etymon with a Chinese borrowing, and the term appears early in the historical record, when such compounds were not common.
• Originally a compound of 飛ぶ (tobu, “to fly; flying”) + 羽 (ha, “wing”, ancient reading pa) + uncertain element う (u). While more likely in terms of historical trends, this leaves the final element unexplained.

This reading appears to have been superseded by tonbō and tonbo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [to̞ːbo̞ː]

Noun

蜻蛉(とうぼう) or 蜻蛉(トウボウ) • (tōbō) ^{←とうばう (toubau)?}

1. (archaic, possibly obsolete) dragonfly

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
せい Hyōgaiji	れい Hyōgaiji
kan’on

From Middle Chinese 蜻蛉 (MC tsjeng leng).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) せーれー [sèéréé] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [se̞ːɾe̞ː]

Noun

蜻(せい)蛉(れい) or 蜻蛉(セイレイ) • (seirei) 

1. dragonfly

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
えんば
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

Attested in the late 18th century.

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Noun

蜻蛉(えんば) or 蜻蛉(エンバ) • (enba) ^{←ゑんば (wenba)?}

1. (archaic) dragonfly

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
あきつ
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
あきず
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 蜻蛉 – see the following entry.

【秋津あきず】 [noun] (archaic) dragonfly Alternative spelling アキズ 【秋津あきつ】 [noun] (archaic, since the Heian period) dragonfly [proper noun] a railway station in Higashimurayama, Tokyo [proper noun] a shrine in Higashimurayama, Tokyo [proper noun] name of several towns in Japan [proper noun] Akitsu (a town in Higashimurayama, Tokyo prefecture, Japan) [proper noun] Akitsu (a town in Meitoku district, Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan) [proper noun] Akitsu (a town in Higashi district, Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan)　[1954-] [proper noun] name of several villages in Japan [proper noun] a surname Alternative spelling アキツ

(This term, 蜻蛉, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 7

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
かぎろう
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
かげろう
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 蜻蛉 – see the following entry.

【蜉蝣かげろう】 [noun] a mayfly [noun] (obsolete) Synonym of 蜻蛉 (tonbo, “dragonfly”) Alternative spelling カゲロウ 【蜉蝣かぎろう】 [noun] (obsolete) Synonym of 蜻蛉 (tonbo, “dragonfly”)

(This term, 蜻蛉, is an alternative spelling (obsolete) of the above term.)