螳螂

Chinese

		praying mantis
simp. and trad. (螳螂)		螳	螂
variant forms		螳蜋螗螂蟷蜋當郎／当郎

螳螂

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): tángláng
(Zhuyin): ㄊㄤˊ ㄌㄤˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): tong⁴ long⁴
Gan (Wiktionary): tong² long
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): thòng-lòng
(Meixian, Guangdong): tong² long²
Min Nan (POJ): tông-lông / tông-bông
Wu (Wiktionary): daan laan (T3)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: tángláng
  - Zhuyin: ㄊㄤˊ ㄌㄤˊ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tarnglang
  - IPA ^(key): /tʰɑŋ³⁵ lɑŋ³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: tong⁴ long⁴
  - Yale: tòhng lòhng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tong⁴ long⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: tong⁴ long⁴
  - IPA ^(key): /tʰɔːŋ²¹ lɔːŋ²¹/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: tong² long
  - IPA ^(key): /tʰɔŋ²⁴ lɔŋ²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thòng-lòng
  - Hakka Romanization System: tongˇ longˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: tong² long²
  - IPA: /tʰoŋ¹¹ loŋ¹¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: tong² long²
  - IPA: /tʰɔŋ¹¹ lɔŋ¹¹/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tông-lông
  - Tâi-lô: tông-lông
  - Phofsit Daibuun: dongloong
  - IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou): /tɔŋ²⁴⁻²² lɔŋ²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /tɔŋ¹³⁻²² lɔŋ¹³/
- (Hokkien: Lukang)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tông-bông
  - Tâi-lô: tông-bông
  - Phofsit Daibuun: dongboong
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: daan laan (T3)
  - IPA ^(key): /d̻ɑ̃²² lɑ̃⁴⁴/

Middle Chinese: /dɑŋ lɑŋ/▼

Rime
Character	螳	螂
Reading #	1/1	2/2
Initial (聲)	定 (7)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	唐 (101)	唐 (101)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	徒郎切	魯當切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/dɑŋ/	/lɑŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/dɑŋ/	/lɑŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/dɑŋ/	/lɑŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/daŋ/	/laŋ/
Li Rong	/dɑŋ/	/lɑŋ/
Wang Li	/dɑŋ/	/lɑŋ/
Bernard Karlgren	/dʱɑŋ/	/lɑŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	táng	láng

Old Chinese▼
(Zhengzhang): /*daːŋ raːŋ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	螳	螂
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	11142	8032
Phonetic component	尚	良
Rime group	陽	陽
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	唐	郎
Old Chinese	/*daːŋ/	/*raːŋ/
Notes		蜋後起字見淮南子玉篇

Noun

螳螂

praying mantis (Classifier: 隻／只)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 螳螂 (“praying mantis”) [map]
Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		螳蜋, 螳蠰, 蟷蜋, 蟷蠰, 䖨蜋, 莫貈, 蛑, 髦, 不過, 虰, 蝆蝆, 天馬, 齕疣, 食疣, 蚚父, 拒斧, 蜛蚥, 馬敫, 勇蟲
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		螳螂
Taxonomic name		螳螂
Mandarin	Beijing	刀螂
	Taiwan	螳螂
	Tianjin	刀螂
	Harbin	刀螂
	Jinan	刀螂
	Muping	刀龍
	Luoyang	螳螂
	Jiedian	鋤田老漢
	Xi'an	猴子
	Qingdao	刀螂
	Zhengzhou	砍刀
	Xining	螳螂
	Xuzhou	砍頭螂
	Wuhan	修子, 蔥擔婆
	Chengdu	孫猴子
	Guiyang	螳螂
	Guilin	螳螂
	Liuzhou	馬螂䗧
	Yangzhou	刀螂子
	Nanjing	螳螂
	Hefei	刀螂
Cantonese	Guangzhou	馬螂狂
	Hong Kong	螳螂, 馬螂狂
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	斬柴郎
	Taishan	鉸剪霎
	Dongguan	螳螂
	Yangjiang	馬騮狂
	Nanning	馬螂狂
	Wuzhou	馬螂狂
	Yulin	馬螂狂
	Hepu	馬螂狂
	Kuala Lumpur	螳螂
Gan	Nanchang	螳螂
	Lichuan	螳螂
	Pingxiang	猴子
Hakka	Meixian	螳螂仔, 螳螂
	Luchuan	馬猴螳
	Yudu	碓雞公, 猴子
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	草馬仔, 挨礱披波, 老虎哥
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	竹篙鬼, 調羹仔, 㧡水擔竿, 五爪鬼, 草馬仔, 挨礱披波
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	老虎哥, 挨礱披波
	Dongshi (Dabu)	草馬, 挨礱噓呼
	Hsinchu (Raoping)	挨礱披波, 草馬仔, 草馬, 老虎哥
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	草猴
	Hong Kong	豹虎哥
	Senai	螳螂, 斬刀羊 dated
Huizhou	Jixi	滾龍狂
Jin	Taiyuan	扁擔婆
Jin	Xinzhou	掐猴猴蟲, 槌敲
Min Bei	Jian'ou	蘆螞
Min Dong	Fuzhou	草蜢哥
Min Dong	Fuqing	慘蜢
Min Nan	Xiamen	草猴, 草衝
	Quanzhou	芒螳
	Zhangzhou	虎魯舅
	Taipei	草猴
	Kaohsiung	草猴
	Tainan	草猴
	Taichung	草猴
	Hsinchu	草猴, 鐵頭
	Lukang	螳螂
	Sanxia	草猴
	Yilan	草猴
	Kinmen	國舅, 樹貓
	Magong	草猴
	Chaozhou	草猴
	Shantou	草猴
	Johor Bahru	杜猴
	Haikou	擔油公
Puxian Min	Putian	草猴
Puxian Min	Xianyou	草猴
Pinghua	Nanning	馬螂䗧
Pinghua	Guilin	虎頭劈
Wu	Shanghai	螳螂
	Suzhou	螳螂
	Hangzhou	螳螂
	Wenzhou	頭毛公公, 頭毛娘, 頭毛虎, 頭毛吊, 打刀娘, 剪裾娘, 紫金娘
	Chongming	螳螂
	Danyang	蚱螂
Xiang	Changsha	禾老蟲
	Shuangfeng	禾老蟲
	Loudi	禾老蟲
	Quanzhou	螳螂

Derived terms

螳螂奮臂／螳螂奋臂
螳螂拒轍／螳螂拒辙
螳螂拳
螳螂捕蟬／螳螂捕蝉

螳螂捕蟬，黃雀在後／螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 (tángláng bǔ chán, huángquè zài hòu)
螳螂搏蟬／螳螂搏蝉
螳螂黃雀／螳螂黄雀

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (螳螂):

→ Japanese: 蟷 (とう)螂 (ろう) (tōrō)
→ Korean: 당랑 (螳螂, dangnang)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
螳	螂
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
Irregular

Either a compound of 鎌 (kama, “sickle”) +‎ 切り (kiri, “cutting; cutter”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 切る (kiru, “to cut”)), or of 鎌 (kama, “sickle”) +‎ キリ (kiri, onomatopoeia), where the kiri is imitative of the sound made by grasshoppers and katydids, and is found as a common element in the names of several insects of similar size and body shape. Compare 螽斯 (kirigirisu, “grasshopper; katydid”), 笹切 (sasakiri, “bush cricket; katydid”).

Considering the sharp forelegs of the mantis, the first derivation may be more probable.

The kanji are jukujikun (熟字訓), from Chinese 螳螂.

Pronunciation

(Irregular reading)
- (Tokyo) かまきり [káꜜmàkìrì] (Atamadaka – [1])[1][2][3]
- IPA^(key): [ka̠ma̠kʲiɾʲi]

Alternative forms

(mantis): 蟷螂, 鎌切
(fish): 鎌切, 杜父魚

Noun

螳螂 (hiragana かまきり, katakana カマキリ, rōmaji kamakiri)

a mantis (any of various large insects of the order Mantodea)
(by extension, from the slender build of the insect) a skinny person or horse
(rare) a fourspine sculpin, a fish of species Cottus kazika.

Synonyms

(fish): 鮎 (あゆ)掛 (かけ) (ayukake)

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts, as カマキリ.

For the fourspine sculpin sense, the more common kanji spellings are 鎌切 and 杜父魚.[4][1]

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
螳	螂
とう Hyōgaiji	ろう Hyōgaiji
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 螳螂 (MC dɑŋ lɨɐŋ|lɑŋ).

Pronunciation

On’yomi: Goon
- (Tokyo) とーろー [tòóróó] (Heiban – [0])[1][3][2]
- IPA^(key): [to̞ːɾo̞ː]

Alternative forms

蟷螂

Noun

螳螂 (hiragana とうろう, rōmaji tōrō, historical hiragana たうらう)

a mantis

Derived terms

蟷 (とう)螂 (ろう)が斧 (おの)を取 (と)りて隆 (りゅう)車 (しゃ)に向 (む)かう (tōrō ga ono o torite ryūsha ni mukau): “the mantis takes [up] its hatchets and faces off against a grand chariot” → a metaphor for a futile endeavor; compare English piss in the wind, quixotic
蟷 (とう)螂 (ろう)が斧 (おの)をもって隆 (りゅう)車 (しゃ)に向 (む)かう (tōrō ga ono o motte ryūsha ni mukau): “the mantis takes [up] its hatchets and faces off against a grand chariot” → a metaphor for a futile endeavor; compare English piss in the wind, quixotic
蟷 (とう)螂 (ろう)の斧 (おの) (tōrō no ono): “the mantis's hatchets” → a metaphor for a futile endeavor; compare English piss in the wind, quixotic

References

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

Korean

Hanja in this term
螳	螂

Noun

螳螂 • (dangnang) (hangeul 당랑)

Hanja form^? of 당랑 (“mantis”).

[DJR-1] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[SMK5-2] 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-3] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

[KDJ-4] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan