河童

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Chinese

river boy; child; children
simp. and trad.
(河童) 		河 童

Etymology

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 河童(かっぱ) (kappa).

Pronunciation

Noun

河童

  1. (Japanese mythology) kappa (mythical creature) (Classifier: 個／个 m; 隻／只 m)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
河 童
かわ > か
Grade: 5 		わっぱ > っぱ
Grade: 3
irregular
河童 (kappa): a picture of a kappa or water imp.

Etymology

/kapawarapa/ → /kawawappa/ → /kawappa/ → /kappa/

Originally a compound of 川 (kapa → kawa, “river”) +‎ 童 (warapa → wappa, “child”).

Pronunciation

Noun

河(か)童(っぱ) • (kappa) 

  1. (Japanese mythology, folklore) a river-dwelling imp or monster from Japanese folklore
    • 1999 September 23, “ひょうすべ [Hyōsube]”, in Vol.5, Konami:
      カッパの親(おや)分(ぶん)。攻(こう)撃(げき)力(りょく)は意(い)外(がい)と高(たか)い。守(しゅ)備(び)力(りょく)は低(ひく)め。
      Kappa no oyabun. Kōgekiryoku wa igai to takai. Shubiryoku wa hikume.
      A kappa boss with low defense strength, but surprisingly high attack strength.
    • 2000 July 13, “サイコ・カッパー [Psycho Kappar]”, in Pharaoh’s Servant －ファラオのしもべ－, Konami:
      いろいろな超(ちょう)能(のう)力(りょく)を使(つか)い、攻(こう)撃(げき)のダメージを防(ふせ)ぐカッパ。
      Iroiro na chōnōryoku o tsukai, kōgeki no damēji o fusegu kappa.
      This kappa evades attack damage with his ESP.
  2. a cucumber
  3. rolled sushi with cucumber inside
  4. (dated) a prostitute working from a boat that picks up customers from the banks of a river
  5. (historical) a children's hairstyle in the Edo period, similar to the bowl cut
  6. (dated, slang) a strong swimmer
  7. Alternative spelling of 合羽 (“raincoat”)

See also

References

  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. ^ 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), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
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