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.
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.
Cultural 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.
Related Words
Compare:
二枚貝 (bivalve)
Compare:
貝類 (shellfish)
Compare:
蝸牛 (snail)
Compare:
なめくじ (slug)
Related:
貝殻 (seashell, shell)