時鳥

Japanese

Kanji in this term
時	鳥
ほととぎす
Grade: 2	Grade: 2
jukujikun

Glyph origin

The kanji spelling literally means “time bird”, as the lesser cuckoo's timely arrival in early summer can be used as a metaphor for new life detaching from the past.

See also 時(とき)つ鳥(どり) (tokitsudori) and 時(とき)の鳥(とり) (toki no tori).

Definitions

For pronunciation and definitions of 時鳥 – see the following entry.

【ほととぎすホトトギス】 [noun] the lesser cuckoo, Cuculus poliocephalus Alternative spellings 子規, 杜宇, 杜鵑, 田鵑, 蜀魂, 郭公, 不如帰

(This term, 時鳥, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)