火鼠

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Chinese

fire; angry; fierce
fire; angry; fierce; fiery; thriving
 
rat; mouse
trad. (火鼠)
simp. #(火鼠)
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Pronunciation


Noun

火鼠

  1. (Chinese mythology) fire rat or mouse (a mythological creature)
  2. (Taiwanese Hokkien) squirrel

Synonyms

Japanese

Etymology 1

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Wikipedia ja
火鼠 (hinezumi, kaso): woodblock print from the Wakan Sansai Zue (和漢三才図会)
Kanji in this term

Grade: 1
ねずみ
Hyōgai
kun'yomi

Compound of Old Japanese elements (hi, fire) +‎ (nezumi, rat, mouse).

Pronunciation

Noun

()(ねずみ) (hinezumi

  1. a fire-rat: an imaginary creature of ancient China resembling a white rat, thought to live in the volcanoes of the South China Sea and to have fireproof fur
    • 10th century: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
      唐土にある、火鼠の裘を給へ
      もろこしにある、ひねずみのかわごろもをたまえ
      Morokoshi ni aru, hinezumi no kawagoromo o tamae
      Get me the fur robe of the fire-rat in China...
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term

Grade: 1

Hyōgai
on'yomi

/kwaso//kaso/

From Middle Chinese compound 火鼠 (MC xwaX syoX, literally “fire rat”). Date of borrowing unknown.

Pronunciation

Noun

()() (kasoくわそ (kwaso)?

  1. a fire-rat (see above)
Usage notes

The hinezumi reading is more common.

References

  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN