蝦蟇

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 蝦蟇 – see 蛤蟆 (“frog; toad; tadpole; etc.”). (This term is a variant form of 蛤蟆).

Japanese

蝦蟇 (gama, gamagaeru): a Japanese common toad.

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
蝦	蟇
か > が Jinmeiyō	ま Hyōgaiji
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
蟇

Appears to be borrowed from Middle Chinese 蝦蟇 (MC hae, “toad”, literally “shrimp, prawn + toad”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) が​ま [gáꜜmà] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) がま [gàmá] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɡa̠ma̠]

Noun

蝦(が)蟇(ま) or 蝦蟇(ガマ) • (gama) 

1. a toad

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 ガマ.

Synonyms

• 蟇(ひき)蛙(がえる) (hikigaeru)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
蝦	蟇
かまがえる
Jinmeiyō	Hyōgaiji
jukujikun

Appears to be a compound of 蟇 (gama, “toad”) +‎ 蛙 (kaeru, “frog”). The kaeru changes to gaeru as an instance of rendaku (連濁). The kanji in this term are reversed as jukujikun (熟字訓) to match the Chinese spelling of the borrowed term gama (see above).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) がまが​える [gàmágáꜜèrù] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [ɡa̠ma̠ɡa̠e̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

蝦蟇(がまがえる) • (gamagaeru) ^{←がまがへる (gamagaferu)?}

1. a toad