海雀

Japanese

Kanji in this term
うみ
Grade: 2
すずめ
Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
海雀 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

(うみ) (umi, sea) + (すずめ) (suzume, Eurasian tree sparrow)

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) みすずめ [ùmísúꜜzùmè] (Nakadaka – [3])
  • IPA(key): [ɯ̟mʲisɨzɨme̞]

Noun

(うみ)(すずめ) or 海雀(ウミスズメ) • (umisuzume

  1. ancient murrelet, Synthliboramphus antiquus
  2. roundbelly cowfish, Lactoria diaphana

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).