鰐

鰐 (Kangxi radical 195, 魚+9, 20 strokes, cangjie input 弓火口口尸 (NFRRS), composition ⿰魚咢)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1475, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 46337
• Dae Jaweon: page 2006, character 28
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4701, character 18
• Unihan data for U+9C10

(Hyōgai kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 鱷)

1. alligator, crocodile
2. a shark or other large dangerous fish

• Go-on: がく (gaku)
• Kan-on: がく (gaku)
• Kun: わに (wani, 鰐)

From Old Japanese. Derivation uncertain. Appears in the Kojiki in ambiguous reference to a kind of sea creature (possibly sharks^[1] or crocodiles). The sense of crocodile clearly appears in the Wamyō Ruijushō dictionary (938) with an explanation of “having four legs like a turtle and a three-foot mouth with sharp teeth.”However, the Wani of Himezaki in the Izumo Fudoki (733) can come ashore and attack people, so it can also be regarded as a stranded saltwater crocodile. The Kinmōzui (1666)^[2], which first used the name “Wani” for a painting of a crocodile, predates the Okikokusanbutsuezuchūsho (1735)^[3], which first used the name “Wani” for a painting of a shark. The reason why the word "Wani" is used to mean shark is that the kanji character "鮫" which refers to shark can also be read as "Mizuchi" (a type of dragon), so it is thought that the Wani was considered to be a type of dragon modeled after the Machikane crocodile.

Various theories exist regarding the term's origin, such as an alteration of 鬼 (oni, “demon, devil”), or an abbreviation of 海主 (watanushi, “sea master, sea god”), or an abbreviation of 割醜 (warenikuki, “appearance of a large mouth”),^[4] or a alteration of the Proto-Malay buhaya (crocodile).^[5]

• (Tokyo) わに [wáꜜnì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [β̞a̠ɲ̟i]

鰐(わに) • (wani) 

1. ワニ: crocodilian (crocodile, alligator, gavial)
   • 1999 October 17, “クロコダイラス [Crocodilus]”, in Booster 5, Konami:

     知(ち)恵(え)を持(も)ちさらに狂(きょう)暴(ぼう)化(か)したワニ。かたいうろこで攻(こう)撃(げき)をはじく。

     Chie o mochi sara ni kyōbōka shita wani. Katai uroko de kōgeki o hajiku.

     A frenzied crocodilian who’s actually quite intelligent. He repels attacks with his hard scales.

2. (obsolete) a shark or other large and dangerous fish
   • 898–901, Shinsen Jikyō, volume 9, page 2:

     鰐 五各反 和尓

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

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

• “^▲鰐”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026
• Shōjū with Kyōto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokugogaku Kokubungaku Kenkyūshitu (898–901), Shinsen Jikyō (Zōteiban) (in Japanese), Kyōto: Rinsen, published 15 December 1967, →ISBN.

鰐 • (ak) (hangeul 악, revised ak, McCune–Reischauer ak, Yale ak)

1. (악어) crocodile, alligator

• 鱷 (악, ag)

• 鰐魚 (악어, ag-eo) crocodile, alligator

• 鯢 (예, ye) salamander