巨齿鲨
jùchǐshā
The English phrase megalodon is translated into Chinese as 巨齿鲨 (jùchǐshā).
巨齿鲨 refers to the extinct shark in species of Carcharocles megalodon.
Meaning: extinct shark in species of Carcharocles megalodon (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 巨 (giant), 齿 (tooth) and 鲨 (shark).
How does it change in a sentence?
In most scientific contexts, this noun is used as a mass noun or a countable noun without needing a plural marker.
How do you pronounce it?
jùchǐshā
Did you know?
- The term 巨 (giant) is used in 巨齿鲨, but in modern Chinese slang, 巨 is often used as an adverb meaning 'extremely', such as 巨好看 for 'extremely beautiful'.
- The 'tooth' in the name, 齿 (chǐ), is a versatile character that bridges the gap between biology and engineering. In modern technical Chinese, it is the same character used to describe the 'teeth' or 'cogs' of mechanical gears.
- The character 鲨 (shā) is rarely used alone to mean 'shark' and almost always appears in compound words, as a single character in Chinese often lacks a full conceptual meaning.
Examples in context
- 巨齿鲨已经灭绝了。Jùchǐshā yǐjīng mièjué le.The megalodon is already extinct.
- 他在看关于巨齿鲨的纪录片。Tā zài kàn guānyú Jùchǐshā de jìlùpiàn.He is watching a documentary about the megalodon.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a science museum exhibit.
- 浩然 Haoran你看那块巨齿鲨的牙齿了吗？Nǐ kàn nà kuài Jùchǐshā de yáchǐ le ma?Did you see that megalodon tooth?
- 梓涵 Zihan看到了，真的太壮观了。Kàn dào le, zhēn de tài zhuàngguān le.I saw it, it was truly spectacular.
- 浩然 Haoran梓涵，你觉得它有多大？Zǐhán, nǐ juéde tā yǒu duō dà?Zihan, how big do you think it was?
- 梓涵 Zihan浩然，我觉得它大得吓人。Hàorán, wǒ juéde tā dà de xiàrén.Haoran, I think it was terrifyingly large.
