Where does “人魚” come from?

人魚 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 人, from Proto-Japonic *pitə — one.

人魚 (Japanese): a merperson

Definitions

  1. a merperson

Ancestry of “人魚”, step by step

人魚 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 人

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese人a person, human; an individual; mankind, people
2Proto-Japonic*pitəone

via Japanese 魚

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese魚a fish; a fish, "especially" when used as food; a...
2Middle Chinese魚fish

Words derived from “人魚”

Every word from Proto-Japonic *pitə →Every word from Japanese 人 →
人魚 — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer