亀(かめ)

かめ
noun
turtle, tortoise
animal-general
1. turtle, tortoise
A reptile with a hard shell.
亀(かめ)は長生(ながい)きする。
Turtles live long lives.
亀(かめ)がゆっくり歩(ある)いている。
The turtle is walking slowly.
池(いけ)で亀(かめ)を見(み)つけた。
I found a turtle in the pond.
子(こ)どもの頃(ころ)、亀(かめ)を飼(か)っていた。
I kept a turtle as a pet when I was a child.
日本(にほん)では亀(かめ)は長生(ながい)きの象徴(しょうちょう)で、「鶴(つる)は千(せん)年(ねん)、亀(かめ)は万(まん)年(ねん)」ということわざがある。
In Japan, turtles are a symbol of longevity, and there's a proverb that says 'cranes live a thousand years, turtles live ten thousand years.'

亀(かめ) covers both turtles and tortoises — Japanese does not normally distinguish between them.

Cultural note

Turtles are a powerful symbol of longevity and good fortune in Japanese tradition.

  • 鶴(つる)は千年(せんねん)、亀(かめ)は万年(まんねん): "Cranes live 1,000 years, turtles 10,000" (proverb about longevity)
  • 浦島太郎(うらしまたろう): a famous folktale in which a fisherman is carried to an undersea palace on a turtle's back

Compounds

  • 海亀(うみがめ): sea turtle
  • 亀裂(きれつ): crack, fissure (uses the kanji 亀(き) in its on'yomi reading)

Usage

The kanji 亀(かめ) is visually complex but commonly encountered. It appears in place names such as 亀戸(かめいど) and 亀有(かめあり) in Tokyo.

core
Added 2026.1.9 21:29 · Revised 2026.9.2 11:55
02000/02198_kame