河童

河童

Japanese

Kanji in this term
河	童
かわ > か Grade: 5	わっぱ > っぱ Grade: 3
irregular

河童 (kappa): a picture of a kappa or water imp.

Etymology

/kapawarapa/ → /kawawappa/ → /kawappa/ → /kappa/

Originally a compound of 川 (kapa → kawa, “river”) +‎ 童 (warapa → wappa, “child”).[1][2][3][4]

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) かっぱ [kàppá] (Heiban – [0])[3][4][5]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠p̚pa̠]

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

河(か)童(っぱ) • (kappa) 

1. (Japanese mythology, folklore) a river-dwelling imp or monster from Japanese folklore
   • 1999 September 23, “ひょうすべ [Hyōsube]”, in Vol.5, Konami:

     カッパの親(おや)分(ぶん)。攻(こう)撃(げき)力(りょく)は意(い)外(がい)と高(たか)い。守(しゅ)備(び)力(りょく)は低(ひく)め。

     Kappa no oyabun. Kōgekiryoku wa igai to takai. Shubiryoku wa hikume.

     A kappa boss with low defense strength, but surprisingly high attack strength.

   • 2000 July 13, “サイコ・カッパー [Psycho Kappar]”, in Pharaoh’s Servant －ファラオのしもべ－, Konami:

     いろいろな超(ちょう)能(のう)力(りょく)を使(つか)い、攻(こう)撃(げき)のダメージを防(ふせ)ぐカッパ。

     Iroiro na chōnōryoku o tsukai, kōgeki no damēji o fusegu kappa.

     This kappa evades attack damage with his ESP.

2. a cucumber
3. rolled sushi with cucumber inside
4. (dated) a prostitute working from a boat that picks up customers from the banks of a river
5. (historical) a children's hairstyle in the Edo period, similar to the bowl cut
6. (dated, slang) a strong swimmer
7. Alternative spelling of 合羽 (“raincoat”)

See also

• 河童 on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja
• Kappa (folklore) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
3. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
4. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
5. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN