ねずみ算
Japanese
Kanji in this term |
---|
算 |
さん > ざん Grade: 2 |
on’yomi |
Alternative forms
- ネズミ算 (nezumizan), 鼠算 (nezumizan)
Etymology
Compound of ねずみ (nezumi, “mouse”) + 算 (san, “mathematics”). The san changes to zan as an instance of rendaku (連濁).
Pronunciation
- On’yomi
- IPA(key): [ne̞zɨᵝmʲizã̠ɴ]
Noun
ねずみ算 • (nezumizan)
- A common word problem in Japan. It says that "In January, there is a pair of mice. They copulate and bear twelve children. The next month, 7 pairs of mice copulate and bear twelve children respectively. How many mice are there in December?"
Derived terms
- ねずみ算式に増える (nezumizan-shiki ni fueru)