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Passeridae
วงศ์นกกระจอก
woŋ nók krà-còaak

Họ Sẻ

麻雀科
má-què kē

麻雀科
má-què kē

スズメ科
suzume ka

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Passeridae: MN
Passeridae: JP
Passeridae: CN
Passeridae: TW
Passeridae: VN
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Passeridae: MY-SG
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General

Information is from dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections welcome. Hover over Green Lettering Green lettering at this site hides a tool tip with glosses, further explanations, etc. Hover cursor to reveal. to see additional information.

Sparrows are called นกกระจอก nók krà-còaak 'sparrow (bird)' in Thai. The name is based on an old onomatopoetic จอก còaak 'sparrow', which as a bird name today occurs only with the wildlife prefix กระ- krà-. Thai has homophones for (กระ)จอก (krà-)còaak which could lead to misunderstanding; so most often 'sparrow' includes a disambiguating นก nók 'bird', even in the middle of compounds. (In such cases the 'bird' will be omitted from our glosses).

Other birds called 'sparrow' in English also use the Thai name, notably นกกระจอกชวา nók krà-còaak cʰa-waa 'Java sparrow (bird)' for the introduced Java Sparrow Lonchura oryzivora (Estrildidae).

As in English, some accipitrid hawks (Accipitridae) are literally called 'sparrow-hawks' in Thai incorporating the name for 'sparrow'. However, the usage is not exactly congruent in the two languages. Thai uses เหยี่ยวนกกระจอกเล็ก yìaw-nók-krà-còaak lek 'small sparrow-hawk' for the Besra Accipiter virgatus; and เหยี่ยวนกกระจอกใหญ่ yìaw-nók-krà-còaak yày 'large sparrow-hawk' for the Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus. The Japanese Sparrowhawk Accipiter gularis and various other small hawks are known as เหยี่ยวนกเขา yìaw-nók-kʰăw 'dove-hawk'.

Many traditional stories and sayings involve the sparrow, and the familiar name can be used in humorous ways. The joking name นกกระจอกเทศ nók krà-còaak tʰêet 'foreign sparrow (bird)' has come to be accepted as the regular name for the Ostrich Struthio camelus (Struthionidae).

Species names

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SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN
THAI
OTHER S. E. ASIAN
EAST ASIAN
Passer
Latin
English
Thai
Other Th
Malaysian
Indonesian
Vietnamese
Chinese
Japanese
Passer domesticus
link to photo
House sparrow นกกระจอกใหญ่
nók krà-còaak yày
'large sparrow (bird)'
  Burung Ciak Pasar
'bazaar sparrow (bird)' (onomat.) (27 (Singapore)
    家麻雀
(家麻雀)
jiā má-què
'house sparrow'
イエスズメ
(家雀)
ie suzume
'house sparrow'
Passer cinnamomeus
Passer rutilans
link to photo
Russet sparrow
Cinnamon sparrow
Ruddy sparrow
นกกระจอกป่าท้องเหลือง
nók krà-còaak pàa tʰóaaŋ-lĕuaŋ
'yellow-bellied forest-sparrow (bird)'
      Chim Sẻ hung
'reddish sparrow (bird)' (12, 13, 34)
山麻雀
(山麻雀)
shān má-què
'mountain sparrow'
Taiwan:
(山麻雀)
山麻雀
shān má-què
'mountain sparrow'
ニュウナイスズメ
(入内雀)
nyūnai suzume
'enter court sparrow'
Passer flaveolus
link to photo
Plain-backed sparrow
Pegu house sparrow
นกกระจอกตาล
nók krà-còaak taan
'brown sparrow (bird)'
  Burung Ciak Sawah
'wetfield sparrow (bird)' (onomat.) (26, 27)
Burung Ciak Arnab
'rabbit sparrow (bird)' (onomat.) (24)
  Chim Sẻ bụi vàng
'yellow bush sparrow (bird)' (cf the chats, genus Saxicola) (12)
Chim Sẻ bụng vàng
'yellow- bellied sparrow (bird)' (34)
黄腹麻雀
(黄腹麻雀)
huáng-fù má-què
'yellow-bellied sparrow'
セアカスズメ
(背赤雀)
se-aka suzume
'red-backed sparrow'
Passer montanus
link to photolink to photo
Eurasian tree sparrow
Tree sparrow
นกกระจอกบ้าน
nók krà-còaak bâan
'house sparrow (bird)'
  Burung Ciak Rumah
'house sparrrow bird' (onomat.) (26, 27)
Burung Ciak Urasia
'Eurasian sparrow bird' (onomat.) (24)
Burung-gereja Erasia
'Eurasian church-bird'
Chim Sẻ
'sparrow (bird)' (12, 13, 34)
麻雀
(麻雀)
má-què
'sparrow'
or
树麻雀
(樹麻雀)
shù má-què
'tree sparrow' (alt in 1, 3)
Taiwan:
(麻雀)
麻雀
má-què
'sparrow'
スズメ
()
suzume
'sparrow'

ニュウナイ nyū-nai means 'entry into the Imperial court'. According to legend, the poet Fujiwara no Sanekata was exiled to the wilds of Tohoku after an incident at court and died before he could return to Kyoto. The appearance at this time of a sparrow at the Imperial court which consumed whole bowls of rice gave rise to rumours that the 'court-entering sparrow' was Sanekata’s aggrieved soul. Sanekata was also linked to the devastation of crops by sparrows. Passer cinnamomeus, which breeds in the northeast and descends on rice fields around the country in autumn, is thus known as ニュウナイスズメ nyū-nai suzume.

中国鸟类种和亚种分类名录大全(修订版) 郑作新 著 科学出版社 北京 2000年
A Complete Checklist of Species and Subspecies of the Chinese Birds (Revised Edition) by Cheng Tso-Hsin, Science Press, Beijing 2000

中国鸟类分类与分布名录 主编:郑光美 科学出版社 北京 2005年
A Checklist on the Classification and Distribution of the Birds of China Chief editor: Zheng Guangmei, Science Press, Beijing 2005

中国鸟类野外手册(中文版)约翰・马敬能、卡伦・菲利普斯,合作者:荷芬奇,翻译:卢和芬 湖南教育出版社 长沙 2000年
A Field Guide to the Birds of China (Chinese translation) by John MacKinnon, Karen Phillipps, in collaboration with He Fen-qi, translated by Lu Hefen, Hunan Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Hunan Educational Press) Changsha 2000

世界鸟类分类与分布名录 主编:郑光美 科学出版社 北京 2002年
A Checklist on the Classification and Distribution of the Birds of the World Chief editor: Zheng Guangmei, Science Press, Beijing 2002

世界鸟类名称(拉丁文、汉文、英文对照)第二版 郑作新等 科学出版社 北京 2002年
Birds of the World (Latin, Chinese and English Names) 2nd ed. by Cheng Tso-Hsin et al, Science Press, Beijing 2002

中国鸟类分布名录 第二版 郑作新 科学出版社 北京 1976年
(Checklist of the Classification of Birds of China 2nd edition by Cheng Tso-Hsin, Science Press, Beijing 1976)

香港及華南鳥類(第六版)(翻譯成中文及重新修訂) 尹璉、費嘉倫、林超英 香港性徵特區政府新聞處政府印務局 1994年
Birds of Hong Kong and South China (6th edition, translated into Chinese and newly revised) by Clive Viney, Karen Phillipps, Lin Chaoying, Hong Kong Govt. Press 1994

Pocket Checklist of the Birds of the Republic of Singapore / Senai Jenis-Jenis Burung di Singapura / 新加坡野鸟目录 by Lim Kim Seng Nature Society (Singapore) 1999

Danh Lục Chim Việt Nam (In lần thứ hai) (Checklist of the Birds of Vietnam) Võ Quý, Nguyễn Cử, Nhà Xuất Bản Nông Nghiệp, Hà Nội 1999

Chim Việt Nam Nguyễn Cử, Lê Trọng Trải, Karen Phillipps; Nhà Xuất Bản Lao Động - Xã Hội, 2000

Senarai Nama-nama Burung Semenanjung Malaysia dan Asia Tenggara by Ismail, Abdul Rahman, Perhilitan (Jabatam Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara, Semenanjung Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur 1981
(List of the Names of Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Southeast Asia by Ismail, Abdul Rahman, Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 1981)

Previously online version of: Senarai Nama-nama Burung Semenanjung Malaysia dan Asia Tenggara by Ismail, Abdul Rahman, Perhilitan (Jabatam Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara, Semenanjung Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur 1981
List of the Names of Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Southeast Asia by Ismail, Abdul Rahman, Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 1981

The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 1 - Non-passerines by Wells, David R., Academic Press, London 1999

A Field Guide to the Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore by Jeyarajasingam, Allen and Alan Pearson, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1999

The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 2 - Passerines by Wells, David R., Christopher Helm, A&C Black, London 2007

A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore (second edition) by Jeyarajasingham, Allen, Illustrations by Alan Pearson, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2012

A Field Guide to the Birds of Java and Bali (second edition) by MacKinnon, John, Gadjah Mada University Press, Yogyakarta 1990

Danh Lục Các Loài Chim ở Việt Nam (Latinh, Việt, Pháp, Hán) Trần Văn Chánh 2008-2009