琥珀

Japanese

Kanji in this term
琥	珀

Noun

琥珀 (hiragana こはく, romaji kohaku)

1. amber - a hard yellow to brown translucent fossil resin, used for jewellery.

Compounds

• 琥珀色 (こはくいろ, kohakuiro): color amber

---

Mandarin

simpl. and trad.
琥珀

Etymology

Probably borrowed from a language in Central Asia during the Han Dynasty.

Book of Han: "(the country of Jibin in the Western Regions) produces bison, buffalo, elephants, big dogs (kuchis?), macaques, peacocks, jewels, corals, ambers and cat's eyes."

(﹝罽賓國﹞出封牛、水牛、象、大狗、沐猴、孔爵、珠璣、珊瑚、虎魄、璧流離。)

Compare Persian کهربا (kahrobâ, “amber, straw-attractor”), Turkish kehribar (“amber”). Probable Late Old Chinese pronunciation: /*qʰˁraʔ pʰˁrak/ (Baxter-Sagart, 2011). Variants: 虎魄, 虎珀. Borrowed by Japanese 琥珀 (kohaku), Korean 호박 (hobak), Vietnamese hổ phách.

Noun

琥珀 (traditional and simplified, Pinyin hǔpò)

1. amber