common orient clam; hard clam
Refers to the species Meretrix lusoria, a type of edible clam common in Japanese cuisine. Often used in clear soups and sushi.
Clear soup with clams is a standard dish for the Doll Festival.
We gathered a lot of clams during clam digging.
Standard kana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
Katakana spelling; sometimes used in biological or culinary contexts.
Kanji spelling; less common than kana in everyday use.
Rare kanji variant; not commonly used.
Rare kanji variant; not commonly used.
The word はまぐり is of native Japanese origin. The kanji 蛤 is a phono-semantic compound, but the Japanese reading is not derived from the kanji. The exact derivation of the Japanese word is uncertain.