“Hippopotamus” is another one. It derives from the Greek words hippos (horse) and potamos (river) and this concept of river horse is present in many different languages:
German: Flusspferd (lit. river horse)
Dutch: Rivierpaard (lit. river horse)
Finnish: Virtahepo (lit. stream horse)
Danish: Flodhest (lit. flood horse)
Chinese: 河马 (lit. river horse)
Arabic: فرس النهر (lit. river horse)
French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese use variations of hippopotamus.
Actually, the Dutch translation is “Nijlpaard”, not “rivierpaard”.
But, it uses the Dutch name for the Nile river, “Nijl”. So it’s lit. “Nilehorse” - which is technically the same as “river horse”, just more geographically specific.
“Hippopotamus” is another one. It derives from the Greek words hippos (horse) and potamos (river) and this concept of river horse is present in many different languages:
Tiny variations exist as well:
Actually, the Dutch translation is “Nijlpaard”, not “rivierpaard”.
But, it uses the Dutch name for the Nile river, “Nijl”. So it’s lit. “Nilehorse” - which is technically the same as “river horse”, just more geographically specific.
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Aye! Flodhäst in Swedish, and カバ (河馬, 河 river, 馬 horse) in Japanese.