雷神鳥

Compound of 雷神 (raijin, “thunder god”) +‎ 鳥 (chō, “bird”), calque of English thunderbird. The first term of the compound is 雷神 (raijin, “thunder god”) rather than the expected 雷 (rai, “thunder”) because the term 雷鳥 (raichō) is already used to refer to the rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), a type of grouse native to Japan.

• On’yomi: Goon
  • IPA^(key): [ɾa̠iʑĩɲ̟t͡ɕo̞ː]

雷神鳥 (hiragana らいじんちょう, rōmaji raijinchō)

1. (rare) a thunderbird (mythological bird)

The term サンダーバード (sandābādo) is more commonly used as a translation for the English term thunderbird.

• サンダーバード (sandābādo)

• サンダーバード (伝説の生物) on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja
• 雷獣 (らいじゅう) (raijū): a thunder beast