てんじくねずみ

て

ん

じ

く

ね

ず

み

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

noun

guinea pig

usually written using kana alone

Refers to any of the five guinea pig species, especially the domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). The synonym モルモット is more common in everyday use.

Kanji

天heavens, sky, imperial
竺bamboo
鼠rat, mouse, dark gray

Related words

モルモット
モルモット is the everyday name for the animal, while テンジクネズミ (天竺鼠) is its formal zoological name.

Word family

Built from

天てん竺じく+ねずみ

Written forms

天てん竺じく鼠ねずみ
Kanji spelling; rarely used in practice. The word is usually written in kana.
テンジクネズミ
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is the most common written form for this word.

Etymology

From 天竺 (てんじく, 'India', an old name for a faraway land) + 鼠 (ねずみ, 'mouse/rat'), literally 'Indian rat'. The exact origin of the name is uncertain, but it likely reflects the exotic origin of the animal.