How to Say "Narwhal" in Japanese

イッカク

ikkaku

The English word "narwhal" is イッカク (ikkaku) in Japanese.

イッカク is the noun used to refer to the Arctic cetacean known as the narwhal.

Meaning: Arctic cetacean (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The name イッカク is derived from the Japanese word for "one horn" (一角).

ikkaku

Because イッカク literally means 'one corner' or 'one horn', it is also the name used in Japanese for the mythical unicorn. This shared terminology makes the word a bridge between zoology and folklore.
Because イッカク is written in 'katakana', it looks visually similar to other foreign loanwords, even though it is actually a native Japanese compound.
The kanji 角 in イッカク is also used in the word for 'right angle', meaning the narwhal's horn is linguistically linked to geometry.

イッカクはとても珍しい動物です。
Ikkaku wa totemo mezurashii doubutsu desu.
The narwhal is a very rare animal.
水族館にイッカクがいますか？
Suizokukan ni ikkaku ga imasu ka?
Is there a narwhal in the aquarium?
イッカクの角はとても長いですね。
Ikkaku no tsuno wa totemo nagai desu ne.
A narwhal's tusk is very long, isn't it?

Ren and Yui are looking at a book about sea animals.

蓮 Ren

結衣、この動物は何か知ってる？
Yui, kono dōbutsu wa nanika shitteru?
Yui, do you know what this animal is?
結衣 Yui

これはイッカクというクジラだよ。
Kore wa ikka-ku to iu kujira dayo.
This is a whale called a narwhal.
蓮 Ren

角みたいでかっこいいね！
Tsuno mitai de kakkoii ne!
It looks like a horn, how cool!
結衣 Yui

本当だね。不思議な生き物だよね。
Hontō da ne. Fushigina ikimono dayo ne.
It really is. It's a mysterious creature, isn't it?

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