General
Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections welcome.
In Chinese, the albatross is 信天翁 xìntiānwēng, literally 'believe-heaven-old man'. This name has the alternative forms 信天公 xìntiāngōng, 'believe-heaven-man' and 信天緣 xìntiānyuàn, 'believe-heaven-fate'. The name may be related to the ancient perception that albatrosses tended to stand around on the shore and do little active hunting for prey, entrusting their livelihood to heaven.
The Chunichi Daijiten (中日大辞典), a Chinese-Japanese dictionary, gives 海鵞 hǎi-é 'sea goose' and 布袋鵞 bù-dài é 'cloth-bag goose' as alternative names. Although this dictionary is usually quite reliable, the name 布袋鵞 bù-dài é 'cloth bag goose' is peculiar, referring as it does to Hotei (布袋), one of the seven Japanese gods of good fortune. Although modelled on the Chinese monk Bu Dai (布袋 bù-dài) of the 10th century, this god does not appear to enjoy any great currency in China.
Species names
SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH |
CHINESE |
JAPANESE |
OTHER |
| Phoebastria |
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Latin |
English |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Chinese (Mainland) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Other J |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
Phoebastria immutabilis
Diomedea immutabilis |
Laysan albatross |
黑背信天翁
(黑背信天翁)
hēi-bèi xìntiānwēng
'black-backed believe-heaven-old man' |
(黑背信天翁)
黑背信天翁
hēi-bèi xìntiānwēng
'black-backed believe-heaven-old man' |
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コアホウドリ
(小信天翁 ~ 小阿房鳥)
ko-ahō-dori
'small idiot-bird' |
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알바트로스
albateuroseu
'albatross' (English) |
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Phoebastria nigripes
Diomedea nigripes |
Black-footed albatross |
黑腳信天翁
(黑脚信天翁)
hēi jiǎo xìntiānwēng
'black-footed believe-heaven-old man' |
(黑腳信天翁)
黑脚信天翁
hēi jiǎo xìntiānwēng
'black-footed believe-heaven-old man' |
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クロアシアホウドリ
(黒足信天翁 ~ 黒足阿房鳥)
kuro-ashi ahō-dori
'black-footed idiot-bird' |
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Phoebastria albatrus
Diomedea albatrus |
Short-tailed albatross
Stellar's albatross |
短尾信天翁
(短尾信天翁)
duǎn-wěi xìntiānwēng
'short-tailed believe-heaven-old man' |
(短尾信天翁)
短尾信天翁
duǎn-wěi xìntiānwēng
'short-tailed believe-heaven-old man' |
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アホウドリ
(信天翁 ~ 阿房鳥)
ahō-dori
'idiot-bird' |
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