ぼかん

See also: ぽかん

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
ボカン

Onomatopoeia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bo̞kã̠ɴ]

Interjection

ぼかん or ボカン • (bokan) 

1. kapow, bam, biff, bonk

Usage notes

Often written in katakana. Similar to ぽかん (pokan), but the softer initial b sound indicates a duller striking sound. Compare English onomatopoeiae bonk / ponk, bong / pong, bing / ping

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of ぼかん – see the following entry.

【母艦】 [noun] a mother ship, a tender (watercraft) [noun] Short for 航空母艦 (kōkū bokan, “aircraft carrier”).

(This term, ぼかん (bokan), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)