1.
a mollusk that has a single, typically spiral-coiled shell into which it can retract its body, such as a sea snail, whelk, turban shell, or conch; a univalve, gastropod, or snail-type shellfish
The Japanese everyday term for gastropod mollusks that have a single spiral (coiled) shell — as opposed to 二枚貝, which have two hinged shells. The category includes familiar edible sea snails such as サザエ} (turban shell), {バイ{貝} (Japanese whelk), and つぶ{貝} (whelks), as well as non-edible snails. Although the biological class Gastropoda also includes terrestrial land snails (カタツムリ}) and slugs, in everyday Japanese {巻き貝 is used mainly for marine snails with a visible coiled shell.
巻き貝を浜辺で拾った。
I picked up a spiral shell on the beach.
サザエは代表的な巻き貝だ。
Sazae is a representative univalve.
巻き貝は殻の中に身を隠して身を守る。
Univalves protect themselves by hiding their bodies inside their shells.
巻き貝の殻は、ほとんどが右巻きだが、まれに左巻きのものも見つかる。
Almost all spiral shells coil to the right, but left-coiling ones are occasionally found.
Composed of the native verb 巻く ('to wind, to coil') + 貝 ('shellfish'). The connecting form 巻き + 貝 (rendaku) gives 'coiling shellfish,' a vivid description of the spiral shape of the shell. Often written with the okurigana 巻き貝, but also commonly seen as 巻貝 without the okurigana.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 巻き貝の殻: a univalve shell
- 巻き貝類: univalves (as a biological group)
- 右巻きの巻き貝: a right-coiling univalve
- 巻き貝を煮る: to simmer univalve shellfish (as a cooking method)
- 巻き貝を拾う: to pick up a spiral shell (on the beach)
COMMON EDIBLE 巻き貝:
- サザエ (栄螺): turban shell — often grilled in the shell (壺焼き).
- アワビ (鮑): abalone — technically a 巻き貝 though its shell is flat and ear-shaped.
- バイ貝 (貝): Japanese whelk — often simmered in soy sauce.
- つぶ貝: whelk — common in northern Japan; eaten boiled or grilled.
- 法螺貝: conch — famously used as a signal horn in mountain Buddhism.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 二枚貝: bivalve — the main biological counterpart; shellfish with two hinged shells, such as clams and oysters.
- 貝 / 貝類: shellfish (in general) — the umbrella word for both univalves and bivalves.
- カタツムリ (蝸牛): land snail — biologically also a gastropod, but in everyday Japanese it is not normally called a 巻き貝.
- ナメクジ (蛞蝓): slug — a shell-less gastropod; not called a 巻き{がい}.
SCIENCE NOTE:
The overwhelming majority of 巻き貝 species have shells that coil clockwise when viewed from the tip (右巻き). Left-coiling shells (左巻き) are rare and prized by collectors. This fact gives rise to the metaphorical expression 左巻き used to describe someone whose thinking is 'backward' or eccentric.