カバ
kaba
The Japanese word for hippo is カバ (kaba).
カバ is used to refer to the large, semiaquatic mammal characterized by grey skin and a wide mouth.
How do you pronounce it?
kaba
Did you know?
- If you were to write カバ in Kanji, it would typically be rendered as 河馬, which literally translates to 'river horse'.
- The word カバ is written in Katakana, the alphabet often used for foreign loanwords, even though the animal is not foreign to Japan.
- In Japanese children's songs and stories, the カバ is often portrayed as a clumsy or gentle giant, which differs from the more aggressive image of hippos in Western nature documentaries.
Examples in context
- Kaba-chan wa totemo kawaii desu ne! (カバちゃんはとても可愛いですね！)Hippo-chan is so adorable!
- カバはとても大きいです。Kaba wa totemo ookii desu.A hippo is very large.
- 動物園でカバを見ました。Doubutsuen de kaba o mimashita.I saw a hippo at the zoo.
Example conversation
Yui and Yota are looking at animals at the zoo.
- 結衣 Yui見て、あそこにカバがいるよ！Mite, asoko ni kaba ga iru yo!Look, there's a hippo over there!
- 陽太 Yota本当だ。すごく大きいね。Hontou da. Sugoku ookii ne.You're right. It's huge.
- 結衣 Yui口を大きく開けているね。Kuchi o ookiku akete iru ne.It's opening its mouth wide.
- 陽太 Yotaカバは面白い見た目だね。Kaba wa omoshiroi mitame da ne.Hippos have an interesting look.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry カバ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
