Chinese

Noun

北極熊

1. a polar bear

Synonyms

• 白熊 (báixióng)

Japanese

北極熊

Etymology

Compound of 北極 ‎(hokkyoku, “North Pole, arctic”) +‎ 熊 ‎(kuma, “bear”).^[1][2][3]The kuma changes to guma as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Compare Chinese 北極熊, Korean 북극곰 ‎(bukgeukgom), Vietnamese gấu Bắc Cực, all of which literally mean “arctic bear”.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ほっきょく​ぐま [hòkkyókúꜜgùmà] (Nakadaka - [4])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ho̞k̚kjo̞kɯᵝɡ̃ɯᵝma̠]

Alternative forms

• 北極グマ

Noun

北極熊 ‎(hiragana ほっきょくぐま, hiragana and katakana ほっきょくグマ, katakana ホッキョクグマ, romaji hokkyokuguma, historical hiragana ほくきよくぐま)

1. a polar bear

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana in biological contexts, as ホッキョクグマ.

Synonyms

• 白 (しろ)熊 (くま) ‎(shirokuma)

References

1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
3. ↑ 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, ISBN 4-09-501211-0