# 牡蠣
## Chinese

* 牡蠣

### Etymology

Probably from 蠣 (OC *mə-rat-s), with the preinitial *mə- written out as 牡 (Baxter and Sagart, 2020).

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): mǔlì
    (Zhuyin): ㄇㄨˇ ㄌㄧˋ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): maau$^5$ lai$^6$ / mau$^5$ lai$^6$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: mǔlì
*** Zhuyin: ㄇㄨˇ ㄌㄧˋ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: mǔlì
*** Wade–Giles: mu$^3$-li$^4$
*** Yale: mǔ-lì
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: muulih
*** Palladius: мули (muli)
*** Sinological IPA : /mu²¹⁴⁻²¹ li⁵¹/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: maau$^5$ lai$^6$ / mau$^5$ lai$^6$
*** Yale: máauh laih / máuh laih
*** Cantonese Pinyin: maau$^5$ lai$^6$ / mau$^5$ lai$^6$
*** Guangdong Romanization: mao$^5$ lei$^6$ / meo$^5$ lei$^6$
*** Sinological IPA : /maːu̯¹³ lɐi̯²²/, /mɐu̯¹³ lɐi̯²²/

### Noun

牡蠣
* oyster (Classifier: 顆／颗 m)
** 2005, 5:51 from the start, in 《我的野蠻奶奶》 [Wars of In-laws]‎, episode 6, spoken by 喜塔臘鑠蘭 [Hei Tat-Lap Sheok Lan] (汪明荃 [Liza Wang]):
       ni$^1$ jat$^1$ wun$^2$ ne$^1$ zau$^6$ hai$^6$ o$^1$ gaau$^1$ suk$^6$ dei$^6$ bou$^1$ maau$^5$ lai$^6$, zi$^1$ jam$^1$ bou$^2$ hei$^3$, joeng$^5$ hyut$^3$ gu$^3$ toi$^1$ ge$^3$. [Jyutping]
       This bowl is oysters with donkey-hide gelatin and rehmannia, for enriching yin, tonifying qi, nourishing blood, and securing the foetus.

#### Synonyms

| Variety | Location | Words |
| Classical Chinese | Classical Chinese | 蠣, 蠔, 牡蠣, 牡蛤, 蠣蛤, 古賁 |
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 牡蠣, 蠔, 海蠣子, 海蠣 |
| Taxonomic name | Taxonomic name | 牡蠣 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 牡蠣, 蚵仔, 蚵 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Malaysia | 蠔 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Singapore | 蠔 |
| Jiaoliao Mandarin | Yantai (Muping) | 海蠣子 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Nanning (Wuming) | 蠔 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 蠔 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | 蠔, 生蠔 |
| Cantonese | Dongguan | 蠔 |
| Cantonese | Yangjiang | 蠔 |
| Cantonese | Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) | 蠔 |
| Cantonese | Singapore (Guangfu) | 蠔 |
| Hakka | Meixian | 蠔 |
| Hakka | Longmen (Luxi; Bendihua) | 生蠔 |
| Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 蚵仔 |
| Hakka | Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 蚵仔 |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 蚵仔 |
| Hakka | Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 蚵 |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 蚵仔 |
| Hakka | Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 蚵 |
| Northern Min | Jian'ou | 蠣黃 |
| Eastern Min | Fuzhou | 蠣 |
| Eastern Min | Lianjiang | 八蠣 |
| Eastern Min | Fuqing | 蠣 |
| Eastern Min | Matsu | 蠣 |
| Eastern Min | Singapore (Fuqing) | 蠣 |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 蚵仔, 蚵 |
| Southern Min | Quanzhou | 蚵仔, 蚵 |
| Southern Min | Zhangzhou | 蚵仔, 蚵 |
| Southern Min | Zhangzhou (Changtai) | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | Zhao'an | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | Taipei | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | New Taipei (Sanxia) | 蚵 |
| Southern Min | Kaohsiung | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | Yilan | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | Changhua (Lukang) | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | Taichung | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | Taichung (Wuqi) | 蚵 |
| Southern Min | Tainan | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | Taitung | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | Hsinchu | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | Kinmen | 蚵 |
| Southern Min | Penghu (Magong) | 蚵 |
| Southern Min | Penang (Hokkien) | 蚵 |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Hokkien) | 蚵 |
| Southern Min | Manila (Hokkien) | 蚵仔 |
| Southern Min | Chaozhou | 蠔 |
| Southern Min | Shantou | 蠔, 水生 |
| Southern Min | Shantou (Chenghai) | 蠔 |
| Southern Min | Shantou (Chaoyang) | 蠔 |
| Southern Min | Nan'ao (Houzhai) | 蠔 |
| Southern Min | Nan'ao (Yun'ao) | 蠔仔 |
| Southern Min | Jieyang | 蠔, 水生, 水魚 |
| Southern Min | Haifeng | 蠔 |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Teochew) | 蠔 |
| Southern Min | Leizhou | 蠔 |
| Southern Min | Wenchang | 蠔 |
| Puxian Min | Putian | 蚮 |
| Puxian Min | Putian (Donghai, Chengxiang) | 蠔 |
| Puxian Min | Putian (Jiangkou, Hanjiang) | 蚮 |
| Puxian Min | Putian (Nanri, Xiuyu) | 蚮 |
| Puxian Min | Xianyou | 蚮, 蠔 |
| Puxian Min | Xianyou (Fengting) | 蠔 |
| Puxian Min | Xianyou (Youyang) | 蚮 |
| Wu | Ningbo | 蠣黃 |
| Wu | Wenzhou | 蠣膏 |

#### Derived terms

* 牡蠣煎 / 牡蛎煎
* 鍛牡蠣 / 锻牡蛎 (duànmǔlì)

#### Descendants

* → Japanese: 牡(ぼ)蠣(れい) (borei)
* → Korean: 모려(牡蠣) (moryeo)

## Japanese
### Etymology 1

Kanji in this term :
| 牡 | 蠣 |
| Jinmeiyō | Hyōgai |
| irregular ||
* Alternative spellings
* 硴 蠣 牡蛎 (shinjitai) 蛎
Probably a shift from either:
* 掻き (kaki, “scratching, scraping”), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 掻く (kaku, “to scratch, to scrape”), from the way that oysters are harvested by scraping them off of the oyster bed
* 欠き (kaki, “breaking, chipping”), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 欠く (kaku, “to break, to chip”), from the way that one must break or chip an oyster shell to get at the meat
The spelling is from Chinese 牡蠣 / 牡蛎 (mǔlì), as an example of jukujikun (熟字訓).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) かき [káꜜkì] (Atamadaka –)
* IPA: [ka̠kʲi]

#### Noun

牡蠣(かき) or 牡蠣(カキ) • (kaki)
* oyster (edible)

##### Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as カキ.

##### Derived terms

* 真牡蠣(マガキ) (magaki)

### Etymology 2

Kanji in this term :
| 牡 | 蠣 |
| ぼ Jinmeiyō | れい Hyōgai |
| on'yomi ||
From Middle Chinese 牡蠣 (MC muwX ljejH).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) ぼれー [bòréé] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [bo̞ɾe̞ː]

#### Noun

牡(ぼ)蠣(れい) • (borei)
* an oyster
* (traditional Chinese medicine) roasted and powdered oyster shell, used in antacids, sedatives, and as a bird feed additive

### See also

* 真珠貝(しんじゅがい) (shinjugai, “pearl oyster”) (inedible)

### References

* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* ↑ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

### Further reading

* Etymology entry for 牡蠣 at Gogen Jiten (Etymology Dictionary; in Japanese): http://gogen-allguide.com/ka/kaki_kai.html
* Etymology entry for 牡蠣 at Japan Dictionary (in Japanese): http://www.nihonjiten.com/data/45551.html