シロチョウガイ

し

ろ

ちょ

う

が

い

Meanings

1

noun

silver-lipped pearl oyster; golden-lipped pearl oyster; white-lipped pearl oyster

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the large pearl oyster Pinctada maxima, known for producing high-quality pearls. The different English names reflect color variations of the shell's lip.

シロチョウガイは南なん洋よう真しん珠じゅの母ぼ貝がいとして知しられ

て

いる

。

The silver-lipped pearl oyster is known as the mother shell of South Sea pearls.

この真しん珠じゅはシロチョウガイから採とれたものです。

This pearl was harvested from a white-lipped pearl oyster.

Kanji

白white
蝶butterfly
貝shellfish

Related words

アコヤガイ
アコヤガイ (Pinctada fucata) is a smaller pearl oyster used for Akoya pearls, while シロチョウガイ is much larger and produces South Sea pearls.
真しん珠じゅ
真珠 means 'pearl' in general; シロチョウガイ is the specific oyster species that produces certain types of pearls.

Built from

白しろ+蝶ちょう貝がい

Written forms

シロチョウガイ
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is common for this shellfish name; usually written in kana.
白しろ蝶ちょう貝がい
Kanji spelling exists but is rarely used; the word is normally written in katakana.

Etymology

Compound of 白 (しろ, 'white') + 蝶 (ちょう, 'butterfly') + 貝 (がい, 'shellfish'), referring to the shell's butterfly-like shape and white lip. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.