海王星
Chinese
ocean; sea | king; Wang (proper name) | star; satellite; small amount | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
simp. and trad. (海王星) |
海 | 王 | 星 |
Pronunciation
Japanese
Kanji in this term | ||
---|---|---|
海 | 王 | 星 |
かい Grade: 2 |
おう Grade: 1 |
せい Grade: 2 |
on’yomi |
Etymology
Appears to be borrowed from Chinese 海王星, applying the expected Japanese on'yomi for the characters.
The planet itself was discovered in 1846 by astronomers in Europe, so prior to that point, the planet had no name in any language. Following the convention at the time, it was ultimately named for the Roman god, Neptune. After this, the term was probably first borrowed into Chinese as a calque and then borrowed into Japanese from there. Although the god Neptune was known in both China and Japan at this point due to cultural contact, the god's name (or, rather, role) was more often rendered as 海神 (literally, “sea + god”) in both Chinese and Japanese. It is unclear where the 海王 (literally, “sea + king”) appellation arose. The 星 on the end refers to stars or planets.
Pronunciation
Proper noun
海王星 (hiragana かいおうせい, rōmaji Kaiōsei, historical hiragana かいわうせい)
- Neptune (eighth planet of the solar system)
- 2009 March 30 [Jan 23 2004], Takeuchi, Naoko, “
Act 29 無 限 3 2人 NEW SOLDIERS [Act 29: Infinity 3: 2 NEW SOLDIERS]”, in美少女戦士 セーラームーン [Pretty Guardian SAILOR MOON], volume 6 (fiction), 6th edition, Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN, page 181–182:- ——海の星海王星を守護にもつ深海の戦士——セーラーネプチューン
- ——Umi no Hoshi Kaiōsei o shugo ni motsu shinkai no senshi ——Sērā Nepuchūn
- ——Warrior of the depths, keeper of Neptune the Sea Planet ——Sailor Neptune
- ——海の星海王星を守護にもつ深海の戦士——セーラーネプチューン
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See also
- (planets of the Solar System) 太陽系の惑星 (Taiyōkei no wakusei); 水星 (Suisei, “Mercury”), 金星 (Kinsei, “Venus”), 地球 (Chikyū, “Earth”), 火星 (Kasei, “Mars”), 木星 (Mokusei, “Jupiter”), 土星 (Dosei, “Saturn”), 天王星 (Tennōsei, “Uranus”), 海王星 (Kaiōsei, “Neptune”) (Category: ja:Planets of the Solar System)
- ネプトゥーヌス (Neputūnusu)
- 冥王星 (Meiōsei)