Meaning

Primary

Butterfly

Word Type

noun

Explanation

A butterfly with another butterfly added to it? It's still a butterfly, just a really big one with... with four wings. And laser eyes? Oh well, just go with it. It's a butterfly.

While is the formal word for butterfly you'll see in advanced books or science stuff, 蝶々 is the everyday version you'll actually say out loud. The repetition just makes it sound a little cuter, you know? It kind of… flutters off the tongue.

Reading

ちょうちょう
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

The reading is just the on'yomi readings (which you learned with the kanji) twice in a row. Easy!

In real conversation, though, the last usually gets dropped, so people say it as ちょうちょ instead of ちょうちょう. Same butterfly, just a little lighter on the wings.

Context

Context Sentences

窓から蝶々がひらりと入ってきた

A butterfly fluttered in through the window.

蝶々が肩にとまって、少しくすぐったかった。

A butterfly landed on my shoulder, and it tickled a little.

彼女は蝶々のように自由な女性でした。

She was a woman who was as free as a butterfly.

母はオペラ『蝶々夫人』に感動して涙を流した。

My mother was moved to tears by the opera Madame Butterfly.

Kanji Composition