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Simple Japanese Bird Names

Examples of the straightforward adoption of Chinese characters (kanji)

Japanese word Meaning Chinese character chosen Chinese meaning Modern Chinese pronunciation Comments
kiji 'pheasant'
雉
 'pheasant' zhì  
uzura 'quail'
鶉
 'quail' chún In Chinese, 鶉 chún is now used in the compound ānchun 'quail'
ahiru 'domestic duck'
鶩
 'domestic duck' (formal) wù Also written 家鴨.
tsuru 'crane'
鶴
 'crane' hè  
shigi 'snipe'
鷸
 'snipe' yù A Japanese character, 鴫, has also been invented to represent this bird
kamome 'gull'
鴎
 'gull' ōu  
misago 'osprey'
鶚
 'osprey' è  
taka 'hawk'
鷹
 'hawk' yīng  
tobi 'kite'
鳶
 'kite' yuān  
haitaka 'sparrow hawk'
鷂
 'sparrow hawk' (originally) yào  
hayabusa 'falcon'
隼
 'falcon' sǔn, zhǔn  
u 'cormorant'
鵜
 'cormorant' (originally) tí Modern Chinese uses a different name for the cormorant
sagi 'heron'
鷺
 'heron' lù  
mozu 'shrike'
鵙
 'shrike' (old) jú Several ways exist to write mozu.
kasasagi 'magpie'
鵲
 'magpie' què  
uguisu 'warbler'
鶯 (鴬)
 'warbler' yīng Chinese name means 'oriole'
tsubame 'swallow'
燕
 'swallow' yàn Also represents the dialect variants tsubakuro and tsubakura.
hiyo(dori) 'bulbul'
鵯
 'bulbul' bēi  
suzume 'sparrow'
雀
 'sparrow' què In Chinese, now usually called má-què.