General names
Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Species list may not be current. Korean glosses are only tentative. Comments and corrections welcome.
The names of the tits in Japanese all include the form カラ -kara or its voiced counterpart ガラ -gara, which are always found in combination, never as an independent word. カラ kara is used for both the tits (Paridae) and the nuthatches (Sittidae).
カラ kara is written with the Chinese character (kanji) 雀, which is usually read スズメ suzume meaning 'sparrow'. Since Chinese appears to lack a clearly identifiable word for 'tit', there was no Chinese character or word available to write カラ -kara. The Japanese dealt with this by using the character 雀 to representカラ kara (or ガラ -gara).
The family Paridae is named after Parus major, the Great Tit, known in Japanese as the シジュウカラ shijū-kara or literally 'forty tit', written 四十雀.
It appears that 山雀 'mountain sparrow', the Chinese term for the tits, has been borrowed from Japanese 山雀 yama-gara in its written form. In Chinese, 雀, read , is used for both the sparrows and finches.
Species names
ABOUT THIS TABLE (Hover cursor to see) SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN |
JAPANESE |
CHINESE |
KOREAN |
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| Parus | |||||||
Latin |
Eng, Fr, Ger, Ru |
Japanese |
Other J |
Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Korean |
Parus major |
Great Tit Intermediate Tit Mésange charbonnière Kohlmeise Большая синица |
シジュウカラ (四十雀) shijū-kara 'forty tit' |
大山雀 (大山雀) 'large mountain-sparrow' |
(白颊山雀) 白頰山雀 'white-cheeked mountain-sparrow' |
白脸山雀 (白臉山雀) 'white-faced mountain-sparrow' 白面公 (白面公) 'white faced duke' 白面只 (白面只) 'white-faced zhi' 灰山雀 (灰山雀) 'grey mountain-sparrow' 黑子 (黑子) 'black fellow' 仔仔黑 (仔仔黑) 'zaizai black' 吇吇黑 (吇吇黑) 'zizi black' 吱吱嘿 (吱吱黑) 'zhizhi black' 山仔仔黑 (山仔仔黑) 'mountain zaizai black' 吱吱红 (吱吱紅) 'zhi-zhi red' 羊粪蛋 (羊糞蛋) 'sheep manure ball' 花脸雀 (花臉雀) 'flower-faced sparrow' 花脸王 (花臉王) 'flower-faced king' 子归鸟 (子歸鳥) 'child return bird' 吱啵 (吱啵) 'zhibo' |
박새 bak-sae 'bak (gourd?) bird' |
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| Parus cyanus |
Azure tit Mésange azurée Lasurmeise Белая лазоревка |
ルリガラ (瑠璃雀 ~ 琉璃雀) ruri-gara 'lapis lazuli tit' |
灰蓝山雀 (灰藍山雀) 'grey-blue mountain-sparrow' |
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| Parus ater Periparus ater |
Coal tit Mésange noire Tannenmeise Московка |
ヒガラ (日雀) hi-gara 'sun tit' |
煤山雀 (煤山雀) 'coal mountain-sparrow' |
(煤山雀) 煤山雀 'coal mountain-sparrow' |
진박새 jin-bak-sae 'true ? bak bird' |
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| Parus varius Poecile varia |
Varied tit Mésange variée Buntmeise Тиссовая синица |
ヤマガラ (山雀) yama-gara 'mountain tit' |
ヤマガラメ (山がらめ) yama-garame 'mountain tit' |
杂色山雀 (雜色山雀) 'mixed colour mountain-sparrow' |
(赤腹山雀) 赤腹山雀 'red-bellied mountain-sparrow' |
杂山雀 (雜山雀) 'mixed mountain-sparrow' |
곤줄박이 gonjulbagi 'gonjulbagi' |
| Parus palustris Poecile palustris |
Marsh tit Mésange nonnette Sumpfmeise Черноголовая гаичка |
ハシブトガラ (嘴太雀) hashi-buto gara 'thick-billed tit' |
ヘンソンハシブトガラ (ヘンソン嘴太雀) henson hashi-buto gara 'Henson thick-billed tit' (old scientific name) |
沼泽山雀 (沼澤山雀) 'swamp mountain-sparrow' |
黑头山雀 (黑頭山雀) 'black-headed mountain-sparrow' |
쇠박새 soe-bak-sae 'small bak bird' |
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| Parus montanus Poecile montana |
Willow tit Mésange boréale Weidenmeise Буроголовая гаичка |
コガラ (小雀) ko-gara 'small tit' |
北褐头山雀 (北褐頭山雀) 'northern brown-headed mountain-sparrow' (2) 褐头山雀 (褐頭山雀) 'brown-headed mountain-sparrow' (1, 3, 4, 5) |
吱吱红 (吱吱紅) 'zhi-zhi red' (Also P. major) |
북방쇠박새 bukbang-soe-bak-sae 'northern small bak bird' |
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