カタツムリ

also: かたつぶり

か

た

つ

む

り

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

snail

usually written using kana alone

Common word for a land snail, especially the typical garden snail with a spiral shell. Often written in katakana in everyday use.

雨あめの後あと、庭にわにカタツムリがたくさん出でてきた

。

After the rain, many snails came out in the garden.

カタツムリはゆっくり動うごく。

Snails move slowly.

Kanji

蝸snail
牛cow

Related words

ナメクジ
ナメクジ is a slug, which lacks a shell, while カタツムリ has a prominent spiral shell.
でんでんむし
でんでんむし is a childish or poetic word for snail, often used in songs and nursery rhymes.

Written forms

カタツムリUsage71%
kana-only spelling
Common katakana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
かたつむりUsage29%
gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
Hiragana spelling, also common.
蝸牛
gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
- かたつむり
  Kanji form is rare and literary; the word is usually written in kana. The reading is a jukujikun.
- かたつぶり
  rarely-used kana form
かたつぶり
gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikunrarely-used kana form
Rarely used kana variant; may be encountered in older texts or dialects.

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. The word may be related to つぶり (head) or つむり (spiral), but the exact derivation is unclear. The kanji 蝸牛 are Chinese-derived and were assigned to the native Japanese word as jukujikun.