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アブラコウモリ (あぶらこうもり) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

アブラコウモリ

あ

ぶ

ら

こ

う

も

り

Meanings

1

Japanese pipistrelle; Japanese house bat

usually written using kana alone

A small bat species (Pipistrellus abramus) commonly found in urban and suburban areas across Japan.

夕ゆう方がたになると、アブラコウモリが

街がい

灯とう

の

周まわ

り

を

飛と

び

回まわ

る

。

In the evening, Japanese pipistrelles fly around the streetlights.

Kanji

油oil, fat
蝙bat
蝠bat

Built from

油あぶら+コウモリ

Written forms

アブラコウモリ
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is standard for this species name; usually written in kana.
油あぶら蝙蝠こうもり
Kanji spelling is rare and mainly encountered in older or specialized texts.

Etymology

The name アブラコウモリ (油蝙蝠) literally means 'oil bat', possibly from the oily sheen of its fur or its habit of roosting in oil-paper umbrellas in the past, but the exact origin is uncertain.