ベヒーモス
behīmosu
The English word behemoth is translated into Japanese as ベヒーモス (behīmosu).
A behemoth refers to something of great size and power.
Meaning: something of great size and power (noun)
Which one should you use?
While ベヒーモス is a direct transliteration of the English word, the formal terms 巨獣 and 巨大生物 can also be used to express the concept of a behemoth.
How do you pronounce it?
behīmosu
Did you know?
- In Japanese pop culture and gaming, ベヒーモス is often used specifically to denote a boss monster, regardless of whether it resembles the biblical beast.
- While English uses 'behemoth' for both animals and companies, using the Japanese 巨大生物 (kyodai seibutsu) for a large company would sound like you are calling the corporation a 'giant living organism'.
- The katakana spelling ベヒーモス is so specific to foreign loanwords that it would immediately signal to a Japanese reader that you are discussing a creature from Western mythology or literature.
Examples in context
- この映画の巨獣は驚異的なパワーを持っています。The behemoth in this movie possesses astonishing power.
- あのモンスター、でっかすぎ！That monster is way too big!
- 超巨大の敵を倒すには、連携が必要だ。To defeat such a behemoth enemy, cooperation is crucial.
Example conversation
Kenta and Misaki are looking at a huge cargo ship at the port.
- 健太 Kenta見て、あの船は本物のベヒーモスだね。Mite, ano fune wa honmono no behiimosu da ne.Look, that ship is a real behemoth.
- 美咲 Misaki本当に大きいね。圧倒されるわ。Hontou ni ookii ne. Attou sareru wa.It really is huge. I'm overwhelmed.
- 健太 Kentaあんなに巨大な船が動くなんて不思議だ。Anna ni kyodai na fune ga ugoku nante fushigi da.It's amazing that such a giant ship can move.
- 美咲 Misakiそうね。すごい迫力があるわ。Sou ne. Sugoi hakuryoku ga aru wa.I agree. It has such an imposing presence.
