Hirundinidae
ツバメ科
tsubame ka

General

Information is from dictionaries and other sources. Species list may not be current. Korean glosses are tentative. Comments and corrections welcome. Hover over Green Lettering Green lettering at this site hides a tool tip with glosses, further explanations, etc. Hover cursor to reveal. to see additional information.

The Japanese word for swallows in general is ツバメ tsubame, written with the Chinese character 燕. The unmarked form ツバメ tsubame refers to Hirundo rustica. Regional words for 'swallow' include ツバクラメ tsubakurame, ツバクラ tsubakura, and ツバクロ tsubakuro. These can also be represented by the character 燕.

CULTURAL

In Japanese haiku, the swallow or 燕 tsubame (or つばくろ tsubakuro or つばくらめ tsubakarame) is a season word for mid-spring. (The word tsubame is also written 乙鳥 based on an old Chinese name for the swallow.)

However, in expressions like 燕帰る tsubame kaeru 'swallows return (to the south)', 去ぬ燕 inu tsubame 'departing swallows', or 残る燕 nokoru tsubame 'remaining swallows', the swallow becomes a season word for mid-autumn.

The word tsubame in Japanese can refer to an older woman's young lover.

Species names

HIRUNDININAE
SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN		JAPANESE		CHINESE			KOREAN
Delichon
Latin	Eng, Fr, Ger, Ru	Japanese	Other J	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Korean
Delichon urbicum Delichon urbica	Northern house martin Northern house-martin Common house martin House martin Hirondelle de fenêtre Mehlschwalbe Городская ласточка, Воронок	ニシイワツバメ (西岩燕) nishi iwa-tsubame 'Western rock-swallow'		毛脚燕 (毛腳燕) máo-jiǎo-yàn 'hair-leg swallow' or 白腹毛脚燕 (白腹毛腳燕) bái-fù máo-jiǎo-yàn 'white-breasted hair-legged swallow' (alt in 1)		岩燕 (岩燕) yán-yàn 'rock swallow' (early ornithological) (35)
Delichon dasypus	Asian house martin Asian house-martin Hirondelle de Bonaparte Kaschmirschwalbe Восточный воронок	イワツバメ (岩燕) iwa-tsubame 'rock-swallow'		烟腹毛脚燕 (煙腹毛腳燕) yān-fù máo-jiǎo-yàn 'smoky-bellied hair-legged swallow'	(东方毛脚燕) 東方毛腳燕 dōngfāng máo-jiǎo-yàn 'eastern hair-legged swallow'	黑颏岩燕 (黑頦岩燕) hēi-kē yán-yàn 'black-chinned rock swallow' (early ornithological) (35)	흰털발제비 huin-teol-bal-jebi 'white hair-legged swallow'
Cecropis
Latin	Eng, Fr, Ger, Ru	Japanese	Other J	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Korean
Cecropis daurica Hirundo daurica	Red-rumped swallow Golden-rumped swallow Hirondelle rousseline Rötelschwalbe Рыжепоясничная ласточка	コシアカツバメ (腰赤燕) koshi-aka tsubame 'red-rumped swallow'		金腰燕 (金腰燕) jīn-yāo yàn 'gold-rumped swallow'	(金腰燕) 金腰燕 jīn-yāo yàn 'gold-rumped swallow'	赤腰燕 (赤腰燕) chì-yāo-yàn 'red-rumped swallow' (35, from Zool. Nomen.) 巧燕 (巧燕) qiǎo-yàn 'skilful swallow' (northern) (35) 道瑞恩竖纹燕 (道瑞恩豎紋燕) dào-ruì-ēn shù-wén yàn 'Daurian vertical-striped swallow' (early ornithological) (35)	귀제비 gwi-jebi 'returning? swallow'
Hirundo
Latin	Eng, Fr, Ger, Ru	Japanese	Other J	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Korean
Hirundo tahitica	Pacific swallow Hirondelle de Tahiti Südseeschwalbe Тихоокеанская ласточка	リュウキュウツバメ (琉球燕) ryūkyū tsubame 'Ryukyu swallow'		洋燕 (洋燕) yáng yàn 'ocean swallow' (2, 4, 5) 洋斑燕 (洋斑燕) yáng bān yàn 'ocean striped swallow' (alt in 1, 3)	(洋燕) 洋燕 yáng yàn 'ocean swallow'
Hirundo rustica	Barn swallow House swallow Swallow Hirondelle rustique Rauchschwalbe Деревенская ласточка	ツバメ (燕) tsubame 'swallow'		家燕 (家燕) jiā-yàn 'house swallow'	(家燕) 家燕 jiā-yàn 'house swallow'	燕子 (燕子) yànzi 'swallow' 拙燕 (拙燕) zhuō-yàn 'clumsy swallow' (northern) (35, from Zool. Nomen.) 家燕 (家燕) jiā-yàn 'house swallow' (northern) (35, from Zool. Nomen.) 东方家燕 (東方家燕) dōng-fāng jiā-yàn 'eastern house swallow' (early ornithological) (35)	제비 jebi 'swallow'
Riparia
Latin	Eng, Fr, Ger, Ru	Japanese	Other J	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Korean
Riparia riparia	Sand martin or Bank swallow Collared sand martin Hirondelle de rivage Uferschwalbe Береговая ласточка	ショウドウツバメ (小洞燕) shōdō tsubame 'small hole swallow'		崖沙燕 (崖沙燕) yá shā-yàn 'cliff sand-swallow'	(灰沙燕) 灰沙燕 huī shā-yàn 'grey sand-swallow'	沙燕 (沙燕) shā-yàn 'sand-swallow' 水燕子 (水燕子) shuǐ yànzi 'water swallow' 土燕子 (土燕子) tǔ yàn-zi 'earth swallow' (also used for pratincoles) 沙岩燕 (沙岩燕) shā yán-yàn 'sand rock swallow' (early ornithological) (35)	갈색제비 gal-saek-jebi 'brown-coloured swallow'
Tachycineta
Latin	Eng, Fr, Ger, Ru	Japanese	Other J	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Korean
Tachycineta bicolor	Tree Swallow Hirondelle bicolore Sumpfschwalbe Древесная американская ласточка, Речная ласточка	ミドリツバメ (緑燕) midori tsubame 'green swallow'		双色树燕 (雙色樹燕) shuāng-sè shù-yàn 'two-coloured tree-swallow'

中国鸟类种和亚种分类名录大全（修订版） 郑作新 著 科学出版社 北京 2000年
A Complete Checklist of Species and Subspecies of the Chinese Birds (Revised Edition) by Cheng Tso-Hsin, Science Press, Beijing 2000

中国鸟类分类与分布名录 主编：郑光美 科学出版社 北京 2005年
A Checklist on the Classification and Distribution of the Birds of China Chief editor: Zheng Guangmei, Science Press, Beijing 2005

中国鸟类野外手册（中文版）约翰・马敬能、卡伦・菲利普斯，合作者：荷芬奇，翻译：卢和芬 湖南教育出版社 长沙 2000年
A Field Guide to the Birds of China (Chinese translation) by John MacKinnon, Karen Phillipps, in collaboration with He Fen-qi, translated by Lu Hefen, Hunan Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Hunan Educational Press) Changsha 2000

世界鸟类分类与分布名录 主编：郑光美 科学出版社 北京 2002年
A Checklist on the Classification and Distribution of the Birds of the World Chief editor: Zheng Guangmei, Science Press, Beijing 2002

世界鸟类名称（拉丁文、汉文、英文对照）第二版 郑作新等 科学出版社 北京 2002年
Birds of the World (Latin, Chinese and English Names) 2nd ed. by Cheng Tso-Hsin et al, Science Press, Beijing 2002

Chinese Birds (A Tentative List of Chinese Birds) 中國鳥類（中國鳥類目錄試編） N. Gist Gee, Lacy I. Moffett, G. D. Wilder (祁天錫, 慕維德, 萬卓志), Peiping, 1927 (reprinted 1948)