ミナミゾウアザラシ

み

な

み

ぞ

う

あ

ざ

ら

し

Meanings

1

noun

southern elephant seal

usually written using kana alone

Refers specifically to the species Mirounga leonina. In everyday Japanese, the katakana name is used almost exclusively.

ミナミゾウアザラシは南なん極きょく周しゅう辺へんに生せい息そくしている。
Southern elephant seals live in the waters around Antarctica.

Kanji

南south
象elephant, pattern after, imitate
海sea, ocean
豹leopard, panther

Related words

キタゾウアザラシ
Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris); distinguished by range and slightly different physical features.
ゾウアザラシ
Generic term for elephant seal; ミナミゾウアザラシ is the southern species.

Built from

南みなみ+ゾウアザラシ

Written forms

ミナミゾウアザラシ
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is standard for this animal name; usually written in kana.
南みなみ象ぞう海豹あざらし
Kanji form is rare and may not be widely recognized; the katakana spelling is strongly preferred.

Etymology

Compound of 南 (みなみ, 'south') + 象 (ぞう, 'elephant') + 海豹 (あざらし, 'seal'), referring to the southern elephant seal. The katakana spelling is standard for animal names.