My textbook says that alligator is わに. I checked the kanji and it turns out to
be 鰐.

When I checked the Japanese for crocodile and alligator they seem to be the
same, either 鰐/わに or 鰐魚/がくぎょ.

Is there a distinction between alligator and crocodile in Japanese ?

What is the difference between わに and がくぎょ ?
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2021-06-28T12:47:25.930
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2021-06-28T18:00:44.263
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words
Difference between the わに and がく pronunciation of 鰐
You can safely forget the word 鰐魚【がくぎょ】, which is basically not used in
Japanese, unless you read Classical Chinese literature.

Just as you noted, 鰐【わに】 is the only native word that covers all
[crocodilians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodilia), and is preferred in
Japanese over any subdivision such as _alligator_ , _caiman_ , _crocodile_ ,
_gharial_ etc.
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