ゲンゴロウ

げんごろう
noun
diving beetle
animal-insect
1. diving beetle; predaceous water beetle
An aquatic beetle that swims in ponds and rice paddies using paddle-like hind legs. Once common in Japanese countryside, now an endangered species due to habitat loss.
池(いけ)でゲンゴロウを見(み)つけた。
I found a diving beetle in the pond.
ゲンゴロウは水中(すいちゅう)を泳(およ)ぐ昆虫(こんちゅう)だ。
The diving beetle is an insect that swims underwater.
田(た)んぼの減少(げんしょう)でゲンゴロウは絶滅(ぜつめつ)危惧種(きぐしゅ)に指定(してい)されている。
Due to the decline of rice paddies, the diving beetle has been designated an endangered species.

Written 竜蝨(げんごろう) in kanji but almost always in katakana in modern writing. The classic Japanese pond insect alongside タガメ (giant water bug) and アメンボ (water strider).

Similar words

  • タガメ: giant water bug — larger, with raptorial front legs
  • ミズスマシ: whirligig beetle — smaller, swims on the water surface
  • アメンボ: water strider — skates on the surface; not a beetle
general
Added 2026.6.4 13:07 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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