How do you say "pelican" in Japanese?

ペリカン

perikan

Noun Katakana

In Japanese, "pelican" is ペリカン (perikan).

Listen to the pronunciation:

Free Japanese learning game. No sign-up, play in browser. See all games

Pronunciation

ペリカン is written using katakana. Romanised as perikan, it sounds roughly like "peh-ree-kah-n" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Perikan is katakana from English pelican, used for the large water bird found in zoos and nature programs. It's a recognizable distinctive bird shape.

Example sentence

動物園でペリカンを見ました。

Doubutsuen de Perikan wo mimashita.

I saw a pelican at the zoo.

Test your Japanese knowledge in our free browser games.

How to remember ペリカン

Perikan sounds like pelican. Picture a huge beak like a pouch for scooping fish from water.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more beach words.

Questions about ペリカン

How do you pronounce ペリカン?

ペリカン is romanised as perikan. Say it roughly like "peh-ree-kah-n" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is ペリカン formal or casual?

ペリカン is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is ペリカン written in Japanese?

ペリカン is written using katakana. Perikan is katakana from English pelican, used for the large water bird found in zoos and nature programs.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Pelican" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.

Noun Town language-learning game on PC, Mac and VR

The full experience

Noun Town on PC, Mac & VR

These browser games are just a taste. The full Noun Town is a bigger, deeper 3D world: explore a living town, talk to its characters and learn thousands of words in immersive VR, Mixed Reality, or on your computer. It's an award-winning game with 590+ reviews on Steam and 12 languages to learn.

See the full game ▶

Spot an error? Email us at contact@noun.town