河豚

Chinese

	river	suckling pig
trad. (河豚)	河	豚
simp. ^#(河豚)	河	豚
alternative forms	河魨／河鲀 pufferfish

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): hétún

(Zhuyin): ㄏㄜˊ ㄊㄨㄣˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ho⁴ tyun⁴
Gan (Wiktionary): ho² tiin

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: hétún
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˊ ㄊㄨㄣˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: hétún
  - Wade–Giles: ho²-tʻun²
  - Yale: hé-twún
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hertwen
  - Palladius: хэтунь (xɛtunʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɤ³⁵ tʰu̯ən³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ho⁴ tyun⁴
  - Yale: hòh tyùhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ho⁴ tyn⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: ho⁴ tün⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔː²¹ tʰyːn²¹/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: ho² tiin
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ho²⁴ tʰɨn²/

Noun

河豚

Synonyms

(blowfish):
- (Cantonese) 雞泡魚／鸡泡鱼
- (Jin) 剝皮魚／剥皮鱼
- (Hokkien) 乖仔魚／乖仔鱼

Hyponyms

(Min Nan) 刺䲅／刺𫚜

Derived terms

河豚毒素 (hétún dúsù)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
河	豚
ふぐ
Grade: 5	Grade: S
jukujikun

Alternative spellings
鰒𩷪

In light of the older pronunciation fuku,^[1] most likely derived from the verb 吹く (fuku, “to blow”), perhaps from the way the fish blow sand to find food (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?). Alternatively, related to the verb 膨れる (fukureru, “to swell up, to expand”);^[1] but historical pitch accent values do not match. Compare also Korean 복 (bok, “blowfish, pufferfish”).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ふぐ [fúꜜgù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]
IPA^(key): [ɸɯ̟ɡɯ̟]

Noun

河豚(ふぐ) or 河豚(フグ) • (fugu)

[from 918] a blowfish
Synonyms: (Kansai) 鉄砲 (teppō), 河豚魚 (fukuto)
[from 1730] (slang, obsolete) a fat and unattractive woman
(slang, obsolete) someone who is quick to anger and who puffs up
[from 1811] (slang, obsolete) a gun (from the way that getting hit may kill)

Usage notes

The kanji spelling is uncommonly used. Usually spelled in kana.
As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as フグ (fugu).

Descendants

→ English: fugu

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
河	豚
か Grade: 5	とん Grade: S
kan'on

From Middle Chinese 河豚 (MC ha dwon, literally “river + pig”). Compare modern Mandarin reading hétún.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) かとん [kàtóń] (Heiban – [0])
IPA^(key): [ka̠tõ̞ɴ]

Noun

河(か)豚(とん) or 河豚(カトン) • (katon)

blowfish

Usage notes

This reading is less common than fugu above.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Dai-ni-han Henshū I'inkai (日本国語大辞典第二版編集委員会) (2001-2002), 日本国語大辞典　第二版 [Unabridged Japanese Dictionary: Second Edition], Tokyo (東京都): Shōgakukan (小学館), →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2019), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Fourth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
^ Yamada, Tadao et al., editors (2020), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Eighth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

“〈河豚〉”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

[NKD2P-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Dai-ni-han Henshū I'inkai (日本国語大辞典第二版編集委員会) (2001-2002), 日本国語大辞典　第二版 [Unabridged Japanese Dictionary: Second Edition], Tokyo (東京都): Shōgakukan (小学館), →ISBN

[DJR4-2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2019), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Fourth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-3] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[SMK8-4] Yamada, Tadao et al., editors (2020), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Eighth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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