河童

Japanese
河童 (kappa): a picture of a kappa or water imp.
Kanji in this term
河 童
かわ > か
Grade: 5		 わっぱ > っぱ
Grade: 3
Irregular

Etymology

/kapawarapa/ → /kawawappa/ → /kappa/

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

Pronunciation

Noun

河童 (hiragana かっぱ, rōmaji 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”)

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
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