- Passeridae - 麻雀科 -

General names

Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections welcome.

The general word for 'sparrow' is 麻雀 má-què, literally 'flaxen sparrow'. In its unmodified form, this refers to Passer montanus.

Traditionally, the word 黄雀 huáng-què 'yellow sparrow' referred to the sparrow (still preserved in Japanese as 黄雀 kōjaku). In Modern Chinese, ornithologists have assigned the term 黄雀 huáng-què to the siskin (Carduelis spinus).

The character 雀 què, originally meaning 'sparrow', or other small passerine species (such as finches), is now one of the most widely used characters in bird names. The family 雀科 Què kē refers not to the sparrows but to the finches (Fringillidae). In some cases, notably that of the Green peacock, 雀 is used for a very unpasserine type of bird.

One of the alternative Chinese names for the Tree Sparrow, 王母使者 wángmǔ shǐzhě ('emissary of the queen mother') relates to a story from ancient China. Yang Bao was a man of great moral integrity. In his childhood, he found an injured 'yellow sparrow' (黄雀 huáng-què) which he rescued and nursed back to health. One night a boy dressed in yellow appeared to Yang Bao saying he was a servant of the Queen Mother of the West. While on a mission to the fairy land in the east he had been attacked by a bird of prey and owed his life to Yang Bao. The boy gave Yang Bao four rings, guaranteeing that four generations of his family would rise to high rank.

Species names

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SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH		CHINESE			JAPANESE		OTHER
Latin	English	Chinese (Taiwan)	Chinese (Mainland)	Other Ch	Japanese	Other J	Korean	Vietnamese
Passer
Passer rutilans	Russet sparrow Cinnamon sparrow Ruddy sparrow	山麻雀 shān má-què 'mountain sparrow'	山麻雀 shān má-què 'mountain sparrow'	黄雀 huáng-què 'yellow sparrow' 紅雀 hóng-què 'red sparrow' 桂色雀 guì-sè què 'cinnamon coloured sparrow' 赭麻雀 zhě má-què 'reddish-brown sparrow' 山只只 shān zhī-zhī (?) 'mountain zhi zhi'	ニュウナイスズメ (入内雀) nyūnai suzume 'enter inside sparrow' (the characters for nyūnai refer to conferral of 'inner' court rank in ancient Japan, a step up from provincial 'outer' rank)		섬참새 seom-cham-sae 'island sparrow bird'	Sẻ hung 'reddish sparrow'
Passer montanus	Eurasian tree sparrow Tree sparrow	麻雀 má-què 'sparrow'	麻雀 má-què 'sparrow' 树麻雀 shù má-què 'tree sparrow' (Alternative in 1, 3)	麻雀兒 má -qiǎor 'sparrow' 家雀 jiā-què 'house sparrow' 家雀兒 jiā-qiǎor 'house sparrow' (dialect) 琉麻雀 liú má-què 'glazed sparrow' 老家賊 lǎo jiā-zéi 'old house thief' (dialect) 老家子 lǎo jiāzi 'old house fellow' 老雀子 lǎo qiǎozi 'old sparrow' 王母使者 wángmǔ shǐzhě 'emissary of the queen mother' (see note) 賓雀 bīn-què 'guest sparrow' 瓦雀 wǎ-què 'tile sparrow' 只只 zhī-zhī (?) 'zhi zhi'	スズメ (雀) suzume 'sparrow'	コウジャク黄雀 kōjaku 'yellow sparrow' A wealth of popular names (see Hiraizumi)	참새 cham-sae 'sparrow bird'	Sẻ 'sparrow'

Passeridae / 麻雀科 (Má-què kē)

General names

Species names