ぞう
zōeveryday
Elephant in hiragana is ぞう (zō), with a long o. It is a short word, and the written form 象 is usually pronounced the same way.
The trunk of an elephant is ぞうのはな (zō no hana), literally the elephant's nose.
Meaning: elephant (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
Say ぞう as "zoh", holding the vowel a little longer than in English.
Did you know?
- The word はな (hana) means both nose and flower, so ぞうのはな uses the nose meaning.
Examples in context
- ぞうははながながいです。Zō wa hana ga nagai desu.Elephants have long trunks.
- どうぶつえんでぞうをみました。Dōbutsuen de zō o mimashita.I saw an elephant at the zoo.
Example conversation
Kaito and his Mother stand at the elephant enclosure of a zoo.
- Kaitoおかあさん、ぞうだよ。Okāsan, zō da yo.Mom, it is an elephant.
- Motherおおきいね。Ōkii ne.It is big.
- Kaitoぞうのはなはながいね。Zō no hana wa nagai ne.The elephant's trunk is long.
