# クルマ貝



## rosalind

Can anyone help me with this word?  It is in a book of kanji meant to be used by first-graders studying for the KanKenL10 test.  (It is given as an example usage of the kanji 貝).

I know 「くるま」as the reading for [車], but I don't know if [車] is what is meant here.  (If it is, I don't understand what it would mean -- a vehicle-shellfish??)   I cannot find the word in my dictionary.

ありがとうございます！


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## Wishfull

Hi.
車貝（くるまがい） is a kind of shellfish, which is named after its appearance resembling to car-wheel.

In English you say "star-fish" referring a certain sea animal.
Is it some kind of stars like the sun? No, it isn't.
Its shape is like a star symbol.
It's the same thing.


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## rosalind

Wishfull said:


> Hi.
> 車貝（くるまがい） is a kind of shellfish, which is named after its appearance resembling to car-wheel.
> In English you say "star-fish" referring a certain sea animal.
> Is it some kind of stars like the sun? No, it isn't.
> Its shape is like a star symbol.
> It's the same thing.



Ohhh, I see!  The starfish is called a 車貝 because its legs are shaped like the spokes of a wheel?

Thank you again, very much, Wishfull!


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## Wishfull

rosalind said:


> Ohhh, I see!  The starfish is called a 車貝 because its legs are shaped like the spokes of a wheel?
> 
> Thank you again, very much, Wishfull!




Oh, sorry.
You're miss-understanding.
Starfish and 車貝　is completely different creature.

What I wanted to say was a different point.
What I wanted to say is the resemblance of naming-after of them.

In Japanese, a monkey with a long tail is called a long-tail-monkey.
In Japanese, a monkey with a long nose is not called a long-nose-monkey,
but Tengu-monkey.
(Here a Tengu is a fictive human shaped creature who has a long nose.
Tengu is a Japanese legendary creature.)

In English, a fish whose shape is star is called a starfish.
In Japanese, a shellfish whose shape is car-wheel is called a car-shellfish (instead of car-wheel-shellfish).

*Their name are named after something which resemble to them.*


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## rosalind

Oh, I see. (I guess I was confused again.)

So a 車貝 is a shellfish that resembles, in some way, the wheel of a vehicle.  (But is _not_ the same thing as a starfish, actually.)

Well, I can't seem to find any images of this animal -- a Google image search keeps bringing up pictures of cars and baby carriages.   But it must exist somewhere!...

Thank you again, Wishfull.  

（日本語ってむずかしい。。。）


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## Wishfull

You're welcome, rosalind.

One thing I would like to say is;
it is not Japanese that is difficult,
but,
it is Wishfull's English that is difficult/complicated/not concise.



Wishfull said:


> Hi.
> 車貝（くるまがい） is a kind of shellfish, which is named after its appearance resembling to car-wheel.
> 
> In English you say "star-fish" referring a certain sea animal.
> Is it some kind of stars like the sun? No, it isn't.
> Its shape is like a star symbol.
> It's *the same thing*.


Here, I mean 
the same thing = the same usage, the same way of naming, the same way of thinking, etc.
Not,
the same animal.

I think my poor English comes from the direct translation of ちょうど同じ*こと*です。

Sorry for my poor English.
これにめげずにがんばってください。
これ　に　めげず　に　がんばって　ください。
これ　に　めげることなく、がんばって　ください。


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## Ghabi

Strictly speaking,  	 クルマガイ is a family of mollusks (*Architectonicidae*). For some pictures, see here.


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## rosalind

Ghabi said:


> Strictly speaking, クルマガイ is a family of mollusks (*Architectonicidae*). For some pictures, see here.



Ah-ha!  Now I can find them in English Wikipedia: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectonica
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectonicidae

Apparently, in English, we call them sea snails, and more specifically "staircase shells" or "sundials."  I had no idea.

Thank you very much!


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## rosalind

Wishfull said:


> You're welcome, rosalind.
> One thing I would like to say is;
> it is not Japanese that is difficult,
> but,
> it is Wishfull's English that is difficult/complicated/not concise.



Oh, I'm not so sure!  This construction (i.e., "it's the same thing") could be ambiguous in English as well.

Personally, I think both English and Japanese are quite difficult languages, at least from a foreign learner's perspective.  But you are (at least) nearly fluent in English, while I know less Japanese than a kindergartener.  So I would say you are doing quite well. 

Thank you again very much for all your help!


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