蛙

蛙 U+86D9, 蛙 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-86D9 ← 蛘 [U+86D8] CJK Unified Ideographs 蛚 → [U+86DA]

蛙 (Kangxi radical 142, 虫+6, 12 strokes, cangjie input 中戈土土 (LIGG), four-corner 5411₄, composition ⿰虫圭)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1081, character 25
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 32997
• Dae Jaweon: page 1549, character 20
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2847, character 3
• Unihan data for U+86D9

simp. and trad.		蛙
alternative forms		鼃 ancient 䵷／𱌃 䖯

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *qʷraː, *qʷreː) : semantic 虫 (“insect; creature”) + phonetic 圭 (OC *kʷeː).

Onomatopoeic (Sagart and Ma, 2020). Also compare Proto-Tai *krweːᴬ (“small frog”) (Schuessler, 2007).

蛙

1. frog
2. (swimming) Short for 蛙泳 (wāyǒng, “breaststroke”).

蛙

1. Only used in 蝭蛙.

(Hyōgai kanji)

• Go-on: え (e)^{←ゑ (we, historical)}
• Kan-on: わ (wa)、わい (wai)
• Kan’yō-on: あ (a)
• Kun: かえる (kaeru, 蛙)^{←かへる (kaferu, 蛙, historical)}、かわず (kawazu, 蛙)^{←かはづ (kafadu, 蛙, historical)}
• Nanori: かえる (kaeru)

Kanji in this term
蛙
かえる Hyōgai
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
蛤 蝦

*⟨kape₁ru⟩ → /kaperu/ → /kaferu/ → /kaweru/ → /kajeru/ → /kaeru/

From Old Japanese.

The Nihon Kokugo Daijiten cites this to the Nihon Shoki of 720, however, that may only be traceable to supplemental glosses added later to the kanbun original.^[1]

Spelled phonetically once in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE, where it is used phonetically to spell the name of the maple tree, 楓 (kape₁rute > kaede).^[2][3] Generally regarded as the informal or everyday term for frog, in contrast to the formal or poetic term kawazu (see below).^[4]

The ultimate derivation is unclear, with numerous theories. Some of the leading ideas include:

• Cognate with 帰る (kaeru, “to return (to a point of origin)”), from the way that some species of frogs return to their birthplace to spawn
• Cognate with 孵る (kaeru, “to hatch (from an egg)”), in reference to tadpoles
• Derived from onomatopoeia, where kape originally referred to the frog's call, suffixed uncertain element -ru

The phonetic development went through a clear stage where the middle mora was pronounced /je/, as illustrated in the 1603 Nippo Jisho entry, spelled cayeru.^[5] This was likely a result of the Muromachi period sound shift, where /we/ shifted to /je/, followed later by /je/ merging into /e/ to produce modern /kaeru/.

Now the most common term for frog.

• (Tokyo) かえる [kàérú] (Heiban – [0])^[6][7][8]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠e̞ɾɯ̟]

蛙(かえる) or 蛙(カエル) • (kaeru) ^{←かへる (kaferu)?}

1. a frog (amphibious animal)

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

• → Pohnpeian: kairu

Kanji in this term
蛙
かわず Hyōgai
kun'yomi

⟨kapadu⟩ → */kapadu/ → /kafad͡zu/ → /kawad͡zu/ → /kawazu/

The more formal or poetic counterpart to kaeru (see above).^[4] Found in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE.^[9]

The ultimate derivation is unclear, but the initial kawa portion (ancient kapa) is very likely 川, 河 (kawa, ancient kapa, “river”).

The phonetic development of the term had already progressed to kawadzu by 1603, as seen in the Nippo Jisho entry, spelled cauazzu.^[10]

• (Tokyo) かわず [kàwázú] (Heiban – [0])^[6][7][8]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠β̞a̠zɨ]

蛙(かわず) • (kawazu) ^{←かはづ (kafadu)?}

1. (poetic) a frog (amphibious animal)
   • 1686, 松尾芭蕉 Matsuo Bashō

     古池や蛙飛びこむ水の音

     ふるいけやかはづとびこむみづのおと
     (modern kana: ふるいけやかわずとびこむみずのおと)
     furuike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto
     old pond -- a frog jumps in -- the sound of water

2. (Noh theater) a specific mask used in certain Noh plays, depicting a drowned person

• 井(い)の中(なか)の蛙大海(かわずたいかい)を知(し)らず (i no naka no kawazu taikai o shirazu): “a frog in a well does not know the great ocean” → metaphor of a narrow world view based on limited experience

Kanji in this term
蛙
かいる Hyōgai
kun'yomi

⟨kaperu⟩ → /kaperu/ → /kaferu/ → /kaweru/ → /kajeru/ → /kairu/

Sound shift. Existed alongside earlier kayeru in the late 1500s, early 1600s, as seen in the 1603 Nippo Jisho entry, spelled cairu.^[11]

• IPA^(key): [ka̠iɾɯ̟]

蛙(かいる) • (kairu) 

1. (archaic, possibly obsolete) a frog (amphibious animal)

Kanji in this term
蛙
あ Hyōgai
kan'yōon

蛙(あ) • (a) 

1. frog (amphibious animal)

• 蟇(ひき)蛙(がえる) (hikigaeru, “toad”)
• 御(お)玉(たま)杓(じゃく)子(し) (otamajakushi, “tadpole”)

蛙 • (wa, wae) (hangeul 와, 왜, revised wa, wae, McCune–Reischauer wa, wae, Yale wa, way)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

蛙: Hán Nôm readings: oa

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.