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Definition 2024


火鼠

火鼠

Chinese

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

Noun

火鼠

  1. A fire rat/mouse; a kind of yāoguài, a supernatural creature.

See also


Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term

Grade: 1
ねずみ
Hyōgaiji
kun'yomi

Compound of Old Japanese elements (hi, fire) + (nezumi, rat, mouse).[1][2]

Pronunciation

Noun

火鼠 (hiragana ひねずみ, romaji 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

Hyōgaiji
on'yomi

/kwaso//kaso/

From Middle Chinese compound 火鼠 (*xuɑ̌ *shiǔ, literally fire rat). Date of borrowing unknown.

Pronunciation

Noun

火鼠 (hiragana かそ, romaji kaso, historical hiragana くわそ)

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

The hinezumi reading is more common.

References

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