Vertebrates

8.7. Vertebrates

8.7.1. The Chinese twelve animal order

Have you ever heard of the Chinese twelve animal order? Each year is associated to one of the twelve animals in Chinese custom, and it is used mainly for fortune-telling. Japanese people also know the twelve animals, whether they believe fortune-telling or not. You can calculate the animal of the year when you were born. The year 1996 is associated to the first animal rat, 1997 is to the ox, 1998 is to the tiger, and so on. I was born in 1970, the year of the dog. This order doesn't mean order of importance at all.

Order

Animal

Description

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ne	zu	mi
Romanization:	ne	zu	mi

Rat, mouse.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	u	si
Romanization:	u	shi

Ox, cow.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	to	ra
Romanization:	to	ra

Tiger.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	u	sa	gi
Romanization:	u	sa	gi

Rabbit, hare.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ryu'	u
Romanization:	ryû

Dragon. Of course it is an imaginary animal. The word

/ta' tu/ "tatsu" also means dragon, and it is more commonly used for the year of the dragon.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	he'	bi
Romanization:	he	bi

Snake.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	u	ma'
Romanization:	u	ma

Horse.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	hi	tu	zi
Romanization:	hi	tsu	ji

Sheep. In China, the year of the goat (

/ya' gi/ "yagi" in Japanese) is used instead of the sheep.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	sa'	ru
Romanization:	sa	ru

Monkey.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ni	wa	to	ri
Romanization:	ni	wa	to	ri

Chicken. The word

/ni wa/ "niwa" means yard, and

/to ri/ "tori" means bird. The latter is more commonly used for the year of the chicken than

/ni wa to ri/ "niwatori" is.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	i	nu'
Romanization:	i	nu

Dog.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	i	no	si'	si
Romanization:	i	no	shi	shi

Wild boar. In China, the year of the pig (

/bu ta/ "buta" in Japanese) is used instead of the wild boar.

8.7.2. Mammals

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ta'	nu	ki
Romanization:	ta	nu	ki
Meaning:	raccoon dog

Note: Raccoon dogs are animals of the dog family native to Japan that look like raccoons. They often appear in fairy tales as mischievous animals with magic power. They are often described to be stupid.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ki	tu	ne
Romanization:	ki	tsu	ne
Meaning:	fox

Note: Foxes often appear in fairy tales as sly animals with magic power.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	o'	o	ka	mi
Romanization:	ô		ka	mi
Meaning:	wolf

Note: This word comes from the adjective

/o o ki' i/ "ôkii" (big) and the noun

/ka' mi/ "kami" (god), so it literally means great god. Wolves were not considered evil in Japanese culture. Wolves went extinct a few hundred years ago in Japan.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ra	i	o	N
Romanization:	ra	i	o	n
Meaning:	lion

Note: Since this is an imported word, katakana are used. Japanese doesn't have the sound of English "l", so it is changed to Japanese "r".

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	hyo'	u
Romanization:	hyô
Meaning:	panther

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ku'	ma
Romanization:	ku	ma
Meaning:	bear

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	si	ka
Romanization:	shi	ka
Meaning:	deer

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	zo'	u
Romanization:	zô
Meaning:	elephant

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ki	ri	N
Romanization:	ki	ri	n
Meaning:	giraffe

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	sa'	i
Romanization:	sa	i
Meaning:	rhinoceros

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ka'	ba
Romanization:	ka	ba
Meaning:	hippopotamus

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ra	ku	da
Romanization:	ra	ku	da
Meaning:	camel

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ba'	ku
Romanization:	ba	ku
Meaning:	tapir

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ku	zi	ra
Romanization:	ku	ji	ra
Meaning:	whale

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	i	ru	ka
Romanization:	i	ru	ka
Meaning:	dolphin

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	a	si	ka
Romanization:	a	shi	ka
Meaning:	sea lion

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	a	za'	ra	si
Romanization:	a	za	ra	shi
Meaning:	seal

8.7.3. Birds

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ka'	ra	su
Romanization:	ka	ra	su
Meaning:	crow, raven

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ha'	to
Romanization:	ha	to
Meaning:	pigeon

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	su	zu	me
Romanization:	su	zu	me
Meaning:	sparrow

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	tu	ba	me
Romanization:	tsu	ba	me
Meaning:	swallow

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	u	gu'	i	su
Romanization:	u	gu	i	su
Meaning:	Japanese nightingale

Note: Japanese nightingales are diurnal birds found in the spring.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ki	zi
Romanization:	ki	ji
Meaning:	pheasant

For your interest: The pheasant is the symbol bird of Japan. They are so rare now that I have never seen a wild pheasant.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ka'	mo
Romanization:	ka	mo
Meaning:	wild duck

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	a	hi	ru
Romanization:	a	hi	ru
Meaning:	domestic duck

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ga	tyo	u
Romanization:	ga	chô
Meaning:	goose

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	i'	N	ko
Romanization:	i	n	ko
Meaning:	macaw, parrakeet

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	o	u	mu
Romanization:	ô		mu
Meaning:	parrot

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ka	mo	me
Romanization:	ka	mo	me
Meaning:	sea gull

8.7.4. Reptiles and amphibians

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ka'	me
Romanization:	ka	me
Meaning:	tortoise

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	wa'	ni
Romanization:	wa	ni
Meaning:	crocodile

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	to	ka	ge
Romanization:	to	ka	ge
Meaning:	lizard

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ka	e	ru
Romanization:	ka	e	ru
Meaning:	frog

8.7.5. Fish

Japan is famous for sea food, and probably Japanese has more words for

/sa ka na/ "sakana" (fish) than any other language. The translation of the words listed here is not precise because English doesn't have many words for fish.

You can eat all of these fish. (I can't. I'm an unlucky Japanese allergic to fish and I get stomachache after eating fish!)

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	ma	gu	ro
Romanization:	ma	gu	ro
Meaning:	tuna

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	u	na	gi
Romanization:	u	na	gi
Meaning:	eel

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	sa	N	ma
Romanization:	sa	m	ma
Meaning:	mackerel pike

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	a'	zi
Romanization:	a	ji
Meaning:	horse mackerel

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	bu'	ri
Romanization:	bu	ri
Meaning:	yellowtail

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	hu'	gu
Romanization:	fu	gu
Meaning:	fugu

For your interest: The fugu is delicious white-meat fish, but eating it can be dangerous because it has deadly poison. You need a license to cook fugu in Japan.

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	sa'	ke
Romanization:	sa	ke
Meaning:	salmon

Hiragana:
Phonemes:	sa	me
Romanization:	sa	me
Meaning:	shark

For your interest: Few Japanese people eat shark, except for Chinese shark fin soup, which is one of the three finest Chinese cuisines. (The other two are bird's nest soup and sea cucumber.) The word

/hu ka/ "fuka" also means shark, and it is more often used for shark fins for the soup.

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