Ryūsei
/ɾʲɯːseː/noun
A Japanese word meaning a meteor or shooting star.
Did you know?The term combines 流, “to flow,” with 星, “star,” reflecting an ancient image of a star traveling rapidly across the sky rather than falling from it.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Chinese
Classical Chinese
流星
“A “flowing star,” used for a meteor or transient streak of light in the sky”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
ljuw seng
“The pronunciation of 流星, literally “flowing star””
8th Century
Old Japanese
流星
“A Sino-Japanese astronomical term read through imported Chinese characters”
Medieval Japanese
Japanese
りゅうせい
“A meteor or shooting star”
Modern Japanese
Japanese
流星（りゅうせい）
“Meteor, shooting star, or—poetically—a fleeting celestial sign”
Explore more surprising origins