ふ化する

• Reading: ふかする
• Romaji: fukasuru
• Kanji breakdown: 化 (ka) — change, transform; ふ (fu) — from 孵, meaning hatch/incubate (written in hiragana due to kanji rarity)
• Pronunciation: /ɸɯ.ka.sɯ.ɾɯ/

Meaning

To hatch. The process of an egg producing a young animal, or artificially incubating eggs until they hatch.

A suru-verb meaning to hatch or incubate. Written as ふ化 (with hiragana ふ + kanji 化) because the original kanji 孵 is not in common use. Used both for natural hatching (eggs hatching on their own) and artificial incubation (ふ化器, fukaki, incubator). Common in biology, agriculture, and nature documentaries. The intransitive form ふ化する means 'to hatch' while the causative ふ化させる means 'to incubate/hatch (something).'

Examples

1. ウミガメの卵が砂浜でふ化した。 Sea turtle eggs hatched on the sandy beach.
2. この施設では鶏の卵を人工的にふ化させている。 This facility artificially incubates chicken eggs.
3. ふ化したばかりのひなは目も開いていなかった。 The chick that had just hatched hadn't even opened its eyes yet.

Usage Guide

Context: biology, agriculture, nature, science

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From Sino-Japanese: 孵 (fu, hatch/incubate) + 化 (ka, change/transform). The kanji 孵 depicts a bird sitting on eggs. The ふ化 spelling uses hiragana because 孵 is a rare character outside specialist contexts.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal