象海豹

Japanese

象海豹 (zō azarashi): male and female elephant seals, showing the pronounced proboscis of the male.

Kanji in this term
象	海	豹
ぞう Grade: 5	Grade: 2	Jinmeiyō
irregular

Alternative spelling
象海豹 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

From 象 (zō, “elephant”) +‎ 海豹 (azarashi, “earless seal”). The 海豹 spelling is jukujikun (熟字訓).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ぞーあざらし [zòó ázáꜜràshì] (Nakadaka – [4])
• IPA^(key): [d͡zo̞ː a̠za̠ɾa̠ɕi]

Noun

象海豹(ぞうあざらし) or 象海豹(ゾウアザラシ) • (zō azarashi) ^{←ざうあざらし (zauazarasi)?}

1. an elephant seal

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ゾウアザラシ.

Not to be confused with 海象 (seiuchi, “walrus”, literally “sea elephant”).