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ミナミセミクジラ (みなみせみくじら) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

ミナミセミクジラ

み

な

み

せ

み

く

じ

ら

Meanings

1

southern right whale

usually written using kana alone

A baleen whale species (Eubalaena australis) found in the Southern Hemisphere.

ミナミセミクジラは南みなみ半はん球きゅうの海うみに生せい息そくしている。
The southern right whale inhabits the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere.

Kanji

南south
背stature, height, back
美beauty, beautiful
鯨whale

Related words

セミクジラ
Refers to the right whale genus (Eubalaena) in general; ミナミセミクジラ specifies the southern species.

Built from

南みなみ+セミクジラ

Written forms

ミナミセミクジラ
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is standard for this species name; usually written in kana.
南みなみ背せ美み鯨くじら
Ateji kanji spelling; rarely used in modern Japanese.

Etymology

Compound of 南 (minami, 'south') + 背美鯨 (semikujira, 'right whale'). The kanji 背美鯨 is ateji for semikujira, itself of uncertain origin.