"Hippopotamus" literally means "river horse" though https://twitter.com/XiranJayZhao/status/1316076159315005442 …
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Replying to @arthur_affect
I kinda wanna get the explanation of FIRE CHICKEN and SEA PIG
3 replies 0 retweets 7 likes -
Replying to @loudpenitent
At a guess, turkeys are probably "fire chickens" in Chinese because of the bright red heads and necks (It's not like English speakers calling them "turkey-fowl" after the country Turkey even though they don't come from there makes more sense, it's one of those long stories)
4 replies 1 retweet 26 likes -
Replying to @arthur_affect @loudpenitent
The Chinese word for dolphin being "sea pig" is, in fact, just borrowing an alternate (and easier to translate) English word for dolphins, "mereswine"
7 replies 2 retweets 28 likes -
Replying to @arthur_affect @loudpenitent
Funny thing, Danes use "marsvin" (mereswine) for porpoises ... and for guinea pigs. I have never figured out why Danish uses the same word for two very different animals
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
Arthur Chu Retweeted Arthur Chu
Arthur Chu added,
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Replying to @arthur_affect @loudpenitent
Since Danish probably got it from German, it makes sense.
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