竜巻

竜巻

Japanese

竜巻 (tatsumaki): a tornado.

Kanji in this term
竜	巻
たつ Grade: S	ま(き) Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
龍卷 (kyūjitai) 竜巻き

Etymology

Compound of 竜 (tatsu, “dragon”) +‎ 巻き (maki, “whirl, spiral”), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem form”) of verb 巻く (maku, “to wind, to roll”).[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
• (Tokyo) たつまき [tàtsúmákí] (Heiban – [0])[4][2][5]
• IPA^(key): [ta̠t͡sɨᵝma̠kʲi]

Noun

竜(たつ)巻(まき) • (tatsumaki) 

1. a tornado, a twister
   • 1999 May 25, “ワイバーン [Wyvern]”, in BOOSTER 2, Konami:

     羽(はね)をはばたかせて強(きょう)力(りょく)な竜(たつ)巻(まき)をおこす。

     Hane o habatakasete kyōryoku na tatsumaki o okosu.

     It causes powerful tornadoes by flapping its wings.

   Synonym: トルネード (torunēdo)

2. a whirlwind, a dust devil (smaller than a tornado)

   Synonym: 旋風 (senpū, tsumujikaze)

3. a waterspout

References

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