海猫

Japanese

Kanji in this term
海	猫
うみ Grade: 2	ねこ Grade: S
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
海猫 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

海(うみ) (umi, “sea”) + 猫(ねこ) (neko, “cat”), comparing its cry with that of a cat. Compare English seamew.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) うみねこ [ùmínékó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɯ̟mʲine̞ko̞]

Noun

海(うみ)猫(ねこ) or 海猫(ウミネコ) • (umineko) 

1. black-tailed gull, Larus crassirostris

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).