Dictionary

kaiju en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈkai.d͡ʒu/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Japanese 怪獣 (かいじゅう, kaijū), from Middle Chinese 怪 (kweajᴴ, “strange, fantastic”) + 獸 (syuwᴴ, “beast”) (compare Mandarin 怪獸 /怪兽 (guàishòu)).

Meanings

1. A fictional giant monster, particularly of the kind found in Japanese science fiction films and other media, like Godzilla, King Kong or Gamera.
   • The resurrections of Mothra, the giant butterfly in Japanese kaiju movies, are treated as colourful religious events, glitter falling upon fat children as the fluffy-faced behemoth dries its wings. 2015, Steve Aylett, Heart of the Original, Unbound, page 117:

Forms

Translations (5)

de Kaijū (fictional giant monster) · cmn 怪獸 /怪兽 (fictional giant monster) · ru ка́йдзю (fictional giant monster) · pl kaijū (fictional giant monster) · ja 怪獣 (fictional giant monster)