(きょうりゅう)

きょうりゅう
noun
dinosaur
animal-general
1. dinosaur
Prehistoric reptiles that dominated the Earth during the Mesozoic Era.
恐竜(きょうりゅう)化石(かせき)()つかった
A dinosaur fossil was found.
子供(こども)恐竜(きょうりゅう)大好(だいす)だ。
Children love dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs are thought to have gone extinct approximately 66 million years ago.

恐竜(きょうりゅう) literally means "fearsome dragon" ((きょう) = fear + (りゅう) = dragon). This is the standard word for all types of dinosaurs.

Common collocations

Cultural note

福井県(ふくいけん)勝山市(かつやまし) is Japan's most famous dinosaur fossil site. The 福井県立(ふくいけんりつ)恐竜(きょうりゅう)博物館(はくぶつかん) is one of the world's leading dinosaur museums. Dinosaurs are extremely popular with Japanese children, and 恐竜(きょうりゅう)(てん) (dinosaur exhibitions) draw large crowds.