1.
incubation; hatching of eggs
The process of keeping eggs warm so that the embryos inside develop and eventually hatch. Used for both natural incubation by parent birds and artificial incubation using machines.
孵卵器で卵を温める。
Warm the eggs in an incubator.
鶏の孵卵期間はおよそ二十一日です。
The incubation period for chickens is approximately twenty-one days.
希少な鳥類の保護プログラムでは、人工孵卵によってひなを育て、自然に放す取り組みが行われている。
In conservation programs for rare birds, chicks are raised through artificial incubation and released into the wild.
Composed of 孵 (hatch) and 卵 (egg). The character 孵 is specific to the hatching process and is not commonly used outside this compound.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 孵卵器: incubator (for eggs)
- 孵卵期間: incubation period
- 人工孵卵: artificial incubation
- 自然孵卵: natural incubation
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 孵化: hatching (the moment of emerging from the egg, rather than the incubation process)
- 抱卵: brooding; sitting on eggs (the act of a bird sitting on its eggs to warm them)
USAGE:
孵卵 emphasizes the warming and development process, while 孵化 emphasizes the moment of hatching. In practice, 孵卵器 (incubator) is the most commonly encountered form of this word.