Chinese

Noun

海獺

1. sea otter

Descendants

• Korean: 해달 (haedal)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Borrowing from Ainu ラッコ ‎(rakko, “otter”).^[1][2] The kanji spelling is from Chinese 海獺, and is jukujikun (熟字訓).

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) らっこ [ràkkó] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• (Tokyo) ら​っこ [ráꜜkkò] (Atamadaka - [1])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ɾ̠a̠k̚ko̞]

Alternative forms

• 猟虎, 獺虎

Noun

海獺 ‎(hiragana らっこ, katakana ラッコ, romaji rakko)

1. a sea otter

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana in biological contexts, as ラッコ.

See also

• 獺 (うそ) ‎(uso): an otter (usually refers to a river otter, but can also refer to a sea otter; rakko is more common for a sea otter)
• 川獺 (かわうそ) ‎(kawauso): a river otter

Etymology 2

Compound of 海 ‎(umi, “sea”) +‎ 獺 ‎(uso, “otter”);^[1][2] see 川獺 ‎(kawauso). Possibly from the superficial similarities between sea otters and (particularly young) sea lions.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) うみうそ [ùmíúsó] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ɯᵝmiɯᵝso̞]

Noun

海獺 ‎(hiragana うみうそ, romaji umiuso)

1. (archaic) a sea lion

Synonyms

• 海驢 (あしか) ‎(ashika), 葦鹿 (あしか) ‎(ashika)

Usage notes

The term 海驢 ‎(ashika) is much more common for the sea lion sense.

See also

• 海豹 (あざらし) ‎(azarashi): a seal

Etymology 3

/umiwoso/ → /umioso/

Rare variant of umiuso above.^[1][2] May be the original form.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ɯᵝmio̞so̞]

Noun

海獺 ‎(hiragana うみおそ, romaji umioso, historical hiragana うみをそ)

1. (rare) a sea lion

Etymology 4

From Middle Chinese 海獺 ‎(xoj^X that, literally “sea + otter”). Compare modern Cantonese reading hoi² caat³.

Note that the meaning diverged in Japanese from the original Chinese sense. See umiuso above for more.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ita̠t͡sɯᵝ]

Noun

海獺 ‎(hiragana かいたつ, romaji kaitatsu)

1. (rare, zoology) a sea lion
2. (rare, zoology) a seal

Synonyms

• (sea lion): 海驢 (あしか) ‎(ashika), 葦鹿 (あしか) ‎(ashika)
• (seal): 海豹 (あざらし) ‎(azarashi)

Usage notes

The term 海驢 ‎(ashika) is much more common for the sea lion sense. The term 海豹 ‎(azarashi) is much more common for the seal sense.

Etymology 5

Rare variant of kaitatsu above, using the 慣用音 ‎(kan'yōon) of datsu for the 獺 character.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ida̠t͡sɯᵝ]

Noun

海獺 ‎(hiragana かいたつ, romaji kaitatsu)

1. (very rare, zoology) a sea lion
2. (very rare, zoology) a seal

Synonyms

• (sea lion): 海驢 (あしか) ‎(ashika), 葦鹿 (あしか) ‎(ashika)
• (seal): 海豹 (あざらし) ‎(azarashi)

Usage notes

The term 海驢 ‎(ashika) is much more common for the sea lion sense. The term 海豹 ‎(azarashi) is much more common for the seal sense.

References

1. 1 2 3 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

Korean

Noun

海獺 • ‎(haedal, McCune-Reischauer: haedal, Yale: hāytal) ‎(hangeul 해달)

1. Hanja form^? of 해달, “sea otter”.