Aboard the Ark: A Thorough Exploration of Bestial Terms
In (rough) size order!
Part 1
| English | Latin | Japanese | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|
| flea | púlex | 蚤 ** / のみ | 벼룩 |
| fly | musca | 蠅 / はえ | 파리 |
| ant | formíca | 蟻 *1 / あり | 개미 |
| beetle | no word *2 | 甲虫 / こうちゅう | 딱정벌레 |
| bee | apis | 蜂 *3 / はち | 벌 |
| wasp | uespa | same as bee | 말벌 *4 |
| moth | pápilió *5 | 蛾 / が | 나방 |
| butterfly | same as moth | 蝶 / ちょう | 나비 |
| slug | límáx | 蛞蝓 / なめくじ | 민달팽이 *6 |
| snail | cochlea *7 | 蝸牛 / かたつむり | 달팽이 |
| worm | uermis *8 | 虫 / むし | 벌레 |
| spider | aránea | 蜘蛛 / くも *9 | 거미 |
| centipede | centipés | 百足 / むかで | my dictionary doesn’t have this :c |
| millipede | millipeda *10 | 馬陸 *11 / やすで | or this |
| shrimp | squilla *12 / cáris | 海老 *13 / えび | 새우 |
| crab | cancer *14 | 蟹 / かに | 게 |
| lobster | locusta *15 | same as shrimp | 바닷가재 |
| locust | same as lobster | 蝉 / せみ *16 | not in my dictionary |
** Note the prevalence of the insect 虫 radical in these words.
- Wow, tough kanji, no wonder it’s usually written in kana
- There’s scarabaeus (scarab)
- As I said before, the hyogaiji 范 is prettier~
- Looks like this term describes a “type of bee”
- This could also mean a dead person’s soul
- Term indicates a “type of snail”
- Loaned into English as the spiraled part of the inner ear
- Root of vermin
- What laborious kanji
- Only appears in Naturalis Historia
- I wonder why 馬 (horse) is there
- Scientific name of the mantis shrimp
- Note the water radical 氵
- Apparently enlarged veins around a cancerous tumour look like the legs of a crab, hence the name of the disease
- This, obviously, also meant locust
- More familiar as cicada
Part 2
| English | Latin | Japanese | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|
| fish | piscis | 魚 / さかな | 물고기 |
| eel | anguilla | 鰻 / うなぎ | 장어 |
| salmon | salmō | 鮭 / さけ | 연어 |
| bird | auis | 鳥 / とり | 새 |
| mouse *1 | mús | 鼠 / ねずみ | 쥐 |
| shrew | migále *2 | 尖鼠 / じねずみ *3 | not in dictionary |
| sparrow | passer *4 | 雀 / すずめ | 참새 |
| starling | sturnus | 椋鳥 / むくどり | 찌르레기 |
| pigeon | columba | 鳩 / はと | 비둘기 |
| hawk | accipiter | 鷹 / たか | 매 |
| eagle | aquila | 鷲 / わし | 독수리 |
| owl | no word *5 | 梟 / ふくろう | 부엉이 |
| weasel | mustela | 鼬 / いたち | 족제비 |
| rabbit | cunículus *6 | 兎 / うさぎ | 토끼 |
| hare | lepus | same as rabbit | ditto |
| cat | félis | 猫 / ねこ | 고양이 |
| dog | canis | 犬 / いぬ *7 | 개 |
- The only of these four languages to distinguish mouse from rat
- Disputed to be the field mouse or even the ferret
- Based on 鼠, mouse
- A famous genus, since Passer domesticus often stands in for the whole of Aves in phylogenetic definitions
- No single word: strix, bubo, ulula, and noctua are all different types of owl
- This name means “little miner”
- According to my highly reliable source (the Nichijou manga) a mnemonic for this is that the dog (the isolated stroke) stays near to its owner (大, which looks like a stick figure)
Part 3
(I would use katakana for the Japanese, but the hiragana are supplied a lot more easily from Jisho.)
| English | Latin | Japanese | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|
| frog | rána | 蛙 / かえる | 개구리 |
| lizard | stéllió *1 | 蜥蜴 / とかげ | とかげ |
| bat | uespertílió | 蝙蝠 / こうもり | 박쥐 |
| squirrel | sciúrus *3 | 栗鼠 / りす | 다람쥐 |
| monkey | símia | 猿 / さる | 원숭이 |
| vulture | uultur | 禿鷹 / はげたか | 독수리 |
| fox | uulpés | 狐 / きつね | 여우 |
| wolf | lupus | 狼 / おおかみ | 늑대 |
| badger | no word | 穴熊 / あなぐま | 오소리 |
| horse | equus | 馬 *2 / うま | 말 |
| donkey | asinus | 驢馬 / ろば | 당나귀 |
| mule | múlus | 騾馬 / らば | 노새 |
| pig | porcus | 豚 / ぶた | 돼지 |
| sheep | ouis | 羊 / ひつじ | 양 |
| cow | bós | 牛 / うし | 암소 / 젖소 |
| shark | squálus *4 | 鮫 / さめ | 상어 |
| ray | batia *5 | 鱝 / えい | not in dictionary |
| turtle *6 | testúdó | 亀 / かめ | 거북이 |
| squid | not in dictionary | 烏賊 / いか | 오징어 |
| octopus | polypus | 蛸 / たこ | 문어 |
- Apparently there’s a lizard called the stellion that hangs around Middle Eastern ruins
- Easy to get 馬 (horse) confused with 鳥 (bird) like I did earlier
- As you can guess, squirrel is a Romance noun. It replaced Germanic acquerne in Middle English.
- Disputed
- Also disputed. Interestingly, batia in Japanese means “cursed”, which is a good name for a poisonous ray…
- In the inclusive American usage, encompassing what we Brits would call a tortoise
Part 4
| English | Latin | Japanese | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|
| seal | phóca | 封 / ふう | 물개 |
| dolphin | delphínus | 海豚 / いるか | 돌고래 |
| whale | bálaena *1 | 鯨 / くじら | 고래 |
| zebra | zebra (NL) | 縞馬 / しまうま | 얼룩말 |
| camel | camelus | 駱駝 / らくだ | 낙타 |
| rhinoceros | rhínocerós | 犀 / 犀 | 라이노 |
| giraffe | camélopardalis | 麒麟 / きりん | 기린 |
| elephant | elephás | 象 / ぞう | 코끼리 |
- You could also use cétus, which had a broad meaning encompassing any large sea animals such as whales, dolphins, seals, sharks, tuna, and monstrous creatures