Home › Glossary › Letter K

Kappa

Folklore
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Water-dwelling imp in Japanese folklore with a dish of water on its head

Detailed Definition
Kappa lure people into rivers but can be tamed with politeness. In poetry, they embody the duality of nature—playful yet dangerous—and the importance of etiquette, often used in ecological or cautionary tales.
Example
Example in poetry:
Kappa, Japanese river imps, inspire cautionary verse: "Kappa waits beneath the bridge—bow, and he’ll return your politeness"; Poets use them to explore etiquette and danger: "He loves cucumbers, hates bad manners—Kappa drags the rude below"; In eco-poetry, they guard clean water: "No Kappa in the poisoned stream—river spirit fled with fish"; Their mischief inspires humor: "Kappa challenged sumo match—lost to farmer, cried in shame"
Additional Notes
Kappa: A water-dwelling yōkai in Japanese folklore, with a dish of water on its head granting strength. Known for politeness, cucumber offerings, and pulling people into rivers. In poetry, it embodies etiquette, ecological balance, and trickster ambiguity. Useful in environmental verse; its vulnerability (spilled water) offers metaphor for fragility.
Also Known As
Kappa (Japanese water imp) Kawatarō Suiko
Skip to main content