メジロザメ

メ

ジ

ロ

ザ

メ

Meanings

noun

sandbar shark

usually written using kana alone

A species of requiem shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus). Also known as ヤジブカ or サンドバーシャーク.

See also: ヤジブカ · サンドバーシャーク

メジロザメは沿えん岸がん域いきでよく見みられるサメの一いっ種しゅです。
The sandbar shark is a type of shark commonly seen in coastal waters.

See all 7 example sentences ›

Kanji

目eye, class, look
白white
鮫shark

Related words

ヤジブカ
Synonym for sandbar shark; less common than メジロザメ.
サンドバーシャーク
English loanword for sandbar shark; used in some contexts but メジロザメ is the standard Japanese name.

Word family

オグロメジロザメ
grey reef shark; gray reef shark; blacktail reef shark

Built from

メジロ+サメ

Written forms

目め白じろ鮫ざめ
Kanji spelling exists but is rarely used; the katakana form is strongly preferred.
めじろざめ
Hiragana spelling is also possible, though katakana is more typical for animal names.

Etymology

Compound of 目白 (mejiro, 'Japanese white-eye', a bird with a white ring around its eye) and 鮫 (same, 'shark'), likely referring to a pale marking near the eye. The exact derivation is uncertain.