鴨
|
Translingual
Han character
鴨 (radical 196, 鳥+5, 16 strokes, cangjie input 田中竹日火 (WLHAF), four-corner 67527, composition ⿰甲鳥)
References
- KangXi: page 1487, character 8
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 46823
- Dae Jaweon: page 2018, character 13
- Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 7, page 4623, character 7
- Unihan data for U+9D28
Chinese
trad. | 鴨 | |
---|---|---|
simp. | 鸭 |
Glyph origin
Characters in the same phonetic series (甲) (Zhengzhang, 2003) | |
---|---|
Old Chinese | |
笚 | *ʔl'aːb, *ɡraːb |
閘 | *klaːb, *sɡreːb, *qraːb |
鉀 | *klaːb, *kraːb |
甲 | *kraːb |
胛 | *kraːb |
岬 | *kraːb |
押 | *kraːb, *qraːb |
玾 | *kraːb |
呷 | *qʰraːb |
匣 | *ɡraːb |
狎 | *ɡraːb |
柙 | *ɡraːb |
翈 | *ɡraːb |
炠 | *ɡraːb |
鴨 | *qraːb |
庘 | *qraːb |
Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *qraːb) : phonetic 甲 (OC *kraːb) + semantic 鳥 (“bird”).
Etymology
Shuowen commented that 鴨 is the colloquial name for 鶩 (OC *moɡs, *moːɡ, “duck”). Probably onomatopoeic in origin. Compare Proto-Tani *ǰap (“duck”).
Also meaning "duck" in Old Chinese is 鴄 (OC *pʰid), which is a substrate loanword, possibly from Tai-Kadai or Austroasiatic.
Pronunciation
Definitions
鴨
- duck
- (slang) male prostitute
- (Mainland China, neologism, slang) Alternative form of 呀 (ya, “sentence-final particle”). [since 2018]
Synonyms
Compounds
References
- “Entry #12123”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.
Japanese
Readings
- Go-on: よう (yō)←えふ (efu, historical)
- Kan-on: おう (ō)←あふ (afu, historical)
- Kun: かも (kamo, 鴨); あひる (ahiru, 鴨)
Etymology 1

Kanji in this term |
---|
鴨 |
かも Jinmeiyō |
kun’yomi |
Unknown. Possibly alteration of Old Japanese 浮かむ (ukamu, “to float”), modern 浮かぶ (ukabu). Alternatively, may derive from Middle Chinese 雁 (MC ŋˠanH, “a type of wild goose”), borrowed with the kan'on reading gan, with initial g changing to k due to the avoidance of voiced stops at the start of Japanese words in older times, and final n changing to mu due to apparent lack of final n in Old Japanese.
Alternative forms
Noun
鴨 (hiragana かも, katakana カモ, rōmaji kamo)
- a duck
- (slang) (from the way ducks return to the same place and are thus easy to hunt) a mark or easy target for a swindle, someone who is likely to lose at gambling or other competition
- (slang) (from the good flavor of duck meat) short for 鴨の味 (kamo no aji, “duck flavor”): a very good flavor; by extension, any remarkably good sensation or feeling, particularly describing happy married life
- (slang) (from the uniform of black clothing) short for 黒鴨 (kurogamo, “black duck”): a male servant, such as a butler or chauffeur (compare English penguin)
Usage notes
As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts, as カモ.
Derived terms
See also
- 家鴨, 鶩 (ahiru): a domestic duck
Etymology 2
Kanji in this term |
---|
鴨 |
かも Jinmeiyō |
kun’yomi |
Probably from the duck sense above, in reference to the 鴨川 (Kamogawa, literally “duck river”) flowing through Kyoto.
Alternative forms
Etymology 3
Kanji in this term |
---|
鴨 |
あひる Jinmeiyō |
kun’yomi |
Rare alternative spelling for 家鴨 (ahiru). See that entry for fuller details.
Noun
鴨 (hiragana あひる, rōmaji ahiru)
- (rare) alternative spelling of 家鴨: a domestic duck, Anas platyrhynchos var. domesticus, descended from the mallard
Korean
Middle Vietnamese
Etymology
From Proto-Vietic *viːt