牛蛙

Chinese

		ox; cow; bull	frog
simp. and trad. (牛蛙)		牛	蛙

Chinese Wikipedia has an article on:

牛蛙

Wikipedia ^zh

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “calque from English bullfrog?”)

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): niúwā

(Zhuyin): ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄨㄚ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ngau⁴ waa¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: niúwā
  - Zhuyin: ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄨㄚ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: nióuwa
  - Wade–Giles: niu²-wa¹
  - Yale: nyóu-wā
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: niouua
  - Palladius: нюва (njuva)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ wä⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ngau⁴ waa¹
  - Yale: ngàuh wā
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ngau⁴ waa¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: ngeo⁴ wa¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋɐu̯²¹ waː⁵⁵/

Noun

牛蛙

bullfrog

Japanese

Kanji in this term
牛	蛙
うし Grade: 2	かえる > がえる Hyōgai
kun'yomi

Wikipedia has articles on:

ウシガエル (Japanese)
American bullfrog (English)

Etymology

Compound of 牛 (ushi, “cow, bull”) +‎ 蛙 (kaeru, “frog”), so named for the way that the mating call of the male resembles the call of a bull.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] This is probably a calque of English bullfrog, although Japanese sources do not mention this. The kaeru changes to gaeru as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Date of first attestation is unclear. The animal itself is native to North America, and there were experiments by Professor 渡瀬庄三郎 (Watase Shōzaburō) at Tokyo Imperial University in raising imported bullfrogs for culinary purposes in 1918 and 1922.^[5]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɯ̟ɕiɡa̠e̞ɾɯ̟]
(Tokyo) うしがえる [ùshígáꜜèrù] (Nakadaka – [3])^[3]

Noun

牛(うし)蛙(がえる) • (ushigaeru) ^{←うしかへる (usikaferu)^?}

[circa 1918] an American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)
Synonym: 食用蛙 (shokuyō-gaeru)

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ウシガエル (ushigaeru).

References

^ “牛蛙”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ “牛蛙”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ “ウシガエル・牛蛙”, in 日本辞典 (Nihon Jiten, “Japan Dictionary”) (in Japanese), 2007–2017.
^ 下川耿史 [Shimokawa Kōshi] (30 November 2003), 環境史年表明治・大正編(1868-1926) (Kankyō-shi Nenpyō: Meiji Taishō-hen (1868-1926), “Chronology of Environmental History: Meiji-Taishō Edition (1868-1926)”), Tokyo: 河出書房新社 [Kawade Shobō Shinsha], published 30 November 2003, page 351

[NKDc-1] “牛蛙”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[DDJS-2] “牛蛙”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months

[DJR-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NJ-4] “ウシガエル・牛蛙”, in 日本辞典 (Nihon Jiten, “Japan Dictionary”) (in Japanese), 2007–2017.

[5] 下川耿史 [Shimokawa Kōshi] (30 November 2003), 環境史年表明治・大正編(1868-1926) (Kankyō-shi Nenpyō: Meiji Taishō-hen (1868-1926), “Chronology of Environmental History: Meiji-Taishō Edition (1868-1926)”), Tokyo: 河出書房新社 [Kawade Shobō Shinsha], published 30 November 2003, page 351

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