- Names List
- Animal Kanji
- Word "Animal" in Japanese
- "Zoo"
- Animal Genders
- Feeding Behavior
- Animal Body Parts
- Pet in Japanese
- Animal Food
- Animal Training
- "Puppy" and "Kitten"
- Onomatopoeia
Names List
A
- tsuchi-buta 土豚
Aardvark. - arigeetaa アリゲーター
Alligator. - arupaka アルパカ
Alpaca. - ari 蟻
Ant. - ari-kui 蟻食い
Anteater. - reiyou 羚羊
Antelope. - arumadjiro アルマジロ
Armadillo. - saru 猿
Monkey. Ape.
Any primate that's not human. - yubi-zaru 指猿
Aye-aye.
(a very creepy kind of monkey.)
The anteater, arikui, is literally "anteater." The armadillo, yoroi-nezumi, is literally "armored rat." And an Aye-aye in Japanese is literally "finger monkey."
B
- hihi 狒々
Baboon. - koumori 蝙蝠
Bat. - kuma 熊
Bear. - hachi 蜂
Bee. - shiro-iruka 白海豚
Beluga, White Whale. - oo-chouzame 大蝶鮫
Beluga, European Sturgeon. - tori 鳥
Bird. - inoshishi 猪
Wild pig. Boar. - usagi 兎
Bunny.
Rabbit. - chou 蝶
Butterfly.
Bee, hachi 蜂, is homonym with the number 8, hachi 八. "Honey" is hachimitsu 蜂蜜, by the way.
C
- rakuda 駱駝
Camel.- hitokobu-rakuda 一瘤駱駝
"One-hump camel."
Dromedary. - futakobu-rakuda 二瘤駱駝
"Two-hump camel."
Bactrian Camel
- hitokobu-rakuda 一瘤駱駝
- neko 猫
Cat. - niwatori 鶏
Chicken. - shuryouhyou 狩猟豹
Cheetah. - semi 蝉
Cicada. - gokiburi 蜚蠊.
Cockroach. - ushi 牛
Cattle. Cow. Bull.- meushi 雌牛
Cow. - oushi 牡牛
Bull. - kyoseigyuu 去勢牛
Steer. "Castrated cattle."
Ox. (because oxen are often steers. Not always, though.)
- meushi 雌牛
- tsuru 鶴
Crane.- oridzuru 折り鶴
Paper crane. (made of origami 折り紙.)
- oridzuru 折り鶴
- wani 鰐
Crocodile.
Alligator. - karasu 烏
Crow.
(gokiburi are kimochiwarui!!! 気持ち悪い)
D
- shika 鹿
Deer. - kyouryuu 恐竜
Dinosaur. - inu 犬
Dog. - iruka 海豚
Dolphin. - roba 驢馬
usagi-uma 兎馬
Donkey. - hato 鳩
Dove.
Pigeon. - kamo 鴨
Duck
Chances are you'll see the kanji for deer used more to say baka 馬鹿 than used to say deer.
E
- washi 鷲
Eagle. - hari-mogura 針土竜
Echidna. - unagi 鰻
una 鰻
Eel. - zou 蔵
Elephant. - hera-jika 箆鹿
Elk or Moose.
A moose is also sometimes called oojika 大鹿, literally "large deer."
F
- taka 鷹
Falcon.
Hawk. - shiro-itachi 白鼬
Ferret. - sakana 魚
Fish. - hae 蝿
Fly. - kitsune 狐
Fox. - kaeru 蛙
Frog.
Don't mistake kaeru 蛙, the "frog", with the homonym kaeru 帰る, "to go back [home]", or kaeru 変える, "to change", or kaeru 買える, "to be able to buy", or kaeru 替える, "to replace", or kaeru 飼える, "to be able to keep as a pet."
G
- suna-nezumi 砂鼠
Gerbil, Mongolian. - arechi-nezumi 荒地鼠
Gerbil, Lesser, Egyptian. - kirin 麒麟
Giraffe. - buyu 蚋
Gnat. - yagi 山羊
Goat. - ushi-kamoshika 牛羚羊
Gnu. - gachou 鵞鳥
Goose. - Kondo Isao
近藤 勲
gorira ゴリラ
Gorilla. - batta 飛蝗
hataori-mushi 機織り虫
Grasshopper. - raichou 雷鳥
Grouse. - morumotto モルモット
Guinea Pig. - kamome 鴎
Gull.
The word "goose bumps" in Japanese is torihada 鳥肌 and it joins the kanji for "bird" and "skin". A goat is just a "mountain" "sheep."
H
- hamusutaa ハムスター
Hamster. - taka 鷹
Hawk.
Falcon. - hari-nezumi 針鼠
Hedgehog. - sagi 鷺
Heron. - kaba 河馬
Hippopotamus. - mitsu-ana-guma 蜜穴熊
Honey Badger. - suzume-bachi 雀蜂
Hornet. - uma 馬
Horse. - ryouken 猟犬
Hound. - ningen 人間
Human. - hachi-dori 蜂鳥
Humming Bird. - tategami-inu 鬣犬
Hyena.
A "honey badger" is literally a "honey hole bear." And a "humming" bird is literally a "bee bird".
I
- mushi 虫
Bug. Insect. Worm.
J
- kakesu 懸巣
Jay (Eurasian). - kurage 海月
Jellyfish.
K
- kangaruu カンガルー
Kangaroo - koara コアラ
Koala
L
- hamahibari 浜雲雀
Lark (Horned) - kitsune-zaru 狐猿
Lemur - hyou 豹
Leopard. - rama ラマ
Llama. - raion ライオン
Lion. - shirami 虱
Louse, Lice.
What is a fox plus a monkey in Japanese? A lemur!!
M
- hera-jika 箆鹿
Moose.
Elk. - mogura 土竜
Mole. - saru 猿
Monkey.
Ape - ka 蚊
Mosquito. - nezumi 鼠
Mouse. - raba 騾馬
Mule. - masukuratto マスクラット
nioi-nezumi 臭鼠
Muskrat.
N
- sayonaki-dori 小夜鳴き鳥
Nightingale, Common. - uguisu 鶯
haru-dori 春鳥
haru-tsuge-dori 春告鳥
Nightingale, Japanese.
The common nightingale is literally called "little night-chirping bird," while the Japanese nightingale is called either uguisu, a yellowish-green color, or haru-tsuge-dori, "Spring announcing bird," because its color is often uguisu and because its chirping is often heard through Japan in spring.
O
- fukuro-nezumi 袋鼠
Opossum. - dachou 駝鳥
Ostrich. - kawauso 川獺
Otter, River. - rakko 海獺
Otter, Sea. - fukurou 梟
Owl. - oushi 牡牛
oushi 雄牛
Ox. - kaki 牡蠣
Oyster.
An Ox is literally a "male cow."
P
- panda パンダ
Panda. (yep, panda is panda) - oumu 鸚鵡
Parrot. - kujaku 孔雀
Peacock.
Peafowl. - pengin ペンギン
Penguin. - buta 豚
Pig.
Hog. - hato 鳩
Pigeon.
Dove. - kamo-no-hashi 鴨の嘴
Platypus. - yama-arashi 山荒
Porcupine. - nezumi-iruka 鼠海豚
Porpoise, Common, Harbor. - sunameri 砂滑
Porpoise, Black Finless. - megane-iruka 眼鏡海豚
Porpoise, Spectacled. - kohari-iruka 小針海豚
Porpoise, Burmeister's. - kogajira-nezumi-iruka 小頭鼠海豚
Porpoise, Gulf. - possamu ポッサム
Possum. - edatsuno-reiyou 枝角羚羊
Pronghorn.
To have a sense of porpoise, they're also known as "rat dolphin." The word megane is "glasses" in Japanese, kohari 小針 means "small needles", kogajira 小頭鼠 means "small head." (can mean the manager of a part of an organization.)
Q
- uzura 鶉
Quail
R
- usagi 兎
Rabbit.
Bunny. - araiguma 洗い熊
Raccoon. - tanuki 狸
Raccoon dog. - nezumi 鼠
Rat. - tonakai 馴鹿
Reindeer. - sai 犀
Rhinoceros. - kabuto-mushi 兜虫
Rhinoceros Beetle
A rhinoceros beetle is literally a "helmet insect".
S
- uni 海胆
Sea Urchin. - kikiaru-rui 鰭脚類
Seal.
Walrus, Pinnipeds. - same 鮫
Shark. - hitsuji 羊
Sheep. - sukanku スカンク
Skunk. - hebi 蛇
Snake.
Serpent. - kumo 蜘蛛
Spider. - risu 栗鼠
Squirrel, the flightless ones. - momonga 鼯鼠
musasabi 鼯鼠
Squirrel, Flying. - hakuchou 白鳥
Swan.
A swan literally stands for "white bird" in Japanese.
T
- shiro-ari 白蟻
Termite. - tora 虎
Tiger. - hikigaeru 蟇蛙
Toad. - rikugame 陸亀
Tortoise. (a land turtle.) - masu 鱒
Trout. - shichimenchou 七面鳥
Turkey. - kame 亀
Turtle.
A turkey is literally a "seven faces bird"!!
W
- kikiaru-rui 鰭脚類
Walrus.
Seal, Pinnipeds. - hachi 蜂
Bee. - itachi 鼬
Weasel. - kujira 鯨
Whale. - howaito-taigaa ホワイトタイガー
White Tiger. - ookami 狼
Wolf. - wonbatto ウォンバット
Wombat. - kitsutsuki 啄木鳥
Woodpecker. - misosazai 鷦鷯
Wren, Eurasian.
Y
- yaku ヤク
Yak
Z
- shima-uma 縞馬
Zebra
A special thanks to ZooBorns for a list of animal names in English.
Common Mistakes
A tanuki 狸 isn't a raccoon, it's a "raccoon dog." The word "raccoon" in Japanese is araiguma 洗い熊.The word ushi 牛 doesn't mean "cow." It's gender-neutral, and may refer to bulls, too. So the meaning of ushi is closer to "cattle" instead. But "cattle" in English is often used to refer to livestock. In that sense, "cattle" is chikugyuu 畜牛. Furthermore, "livestock" is kachiku 家畜.
A wasp is any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. [Wasp - wikipedia.org, 2018-12-17]In Japanese, there's no term that means "wasp" in that definition. The word suzumebachi 雀蜂 can refer to animals in the subfamily Vespinae, which are wasps. Wasps outside that subfamily would be called hachi 蜂 instead.
About mushi 虫: in the past, Japanese divided animals into four groups: furry beasts, kemono 獣, fishes, sakana 魚, birds, tori 鳥, and literally everything else was mushi 虫. By that definition, frogs and snakes were mushi too. In fact, you can see it in their kanji: frog is kaeru 蛙, snake is hebi 蛇. The mushi 虫 radical indicates it. Today, mushi refers to bugs, small worms, spiders, etc. [ふと思ったんですが、ヒルって虫ですか? - detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp, 2018-12-17]
Ostriches don't bury their head in sand. That's a myth.
The word "lion" in Japanese is raion ライオン, not shishi 獅子. That's the Chinese name. In China, before they had seen an actual lion, they'd hear stories about the animal. Sometimes they'd meet a new animal they'd never seen before, and if it matched the description of a lion, they'd assume it was the legendary shishi they had heard so much about. So the word became used toward animals that aren't actually lions, but have manes and are lion-looking. [『獅子』 と 『ライオン』 のちがいを おしえてくれませんか? - detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp, 2018-12-17]
Similarly, byakko 白虎 is a mythical "white tiger." Like the one from the anime On'myou Taisenki 陰陽大戦記. A normal, non-legendary, ordinary, mediocre "white tiger" is called howaito-taigaa ホワイトタイガー instead.
Animal Plurals
Due to how plurals work in Japanese, every word on the list above can be either singular or plural.That is, a neko 猫 can be "a cat" or "the cats."
- neko wa kawaii 猫はかわいい
The cat is cute.
A cat is cute.
Cats are cute.
It's also possible to use a pluralizing suffix like -tachi ~達 to humanize a group of them:
- neko-tachi 猫たち
The cats.
Animal Kanji
If you are learning Japanese, don't worry about learning the kanji of animals. That's because a lot of them aren't jouyou kanji 常用漢字, and therefore aren't taught in the Japanese school system, so people avoid writing them altogether.That is, instead of writing some animal words with kanji, natives tend to write them without kanji, with katakana, or maybe with hiragana.
For example: neko 猫, "cat," is usually written with kanji, but koumori コウモリ, "bat," is usually written with katakana.
Manga: Aho Girl / Aho Gaaru アホガール
- wan' wan' ワンッワンッ
*woof woof* - dekee!! でけぇ!!
Hugee!! - kono deka-sa wa... このデカさは…
This huge-ness [is]... - kuma ka!! クマか!!
[It's] a bear!!- In this phrase, "bear," kuma クマ, is written without kanji.
Written with kanji it would be: - kuma 熊
Bear.
- In this phrase, "bear," kuma クマ, is written without kanji.
- inu datte!! 犬だって!!
[It's] a dog!!
There are multiple reasons for this:
- You talk about cats more than you talk about bats, so the word shows up less, making learning how to spell it less important.
- A kanji for an animal usually has a meaning associated with that animal specifically, so it tends to show only in that word in the entire Japanese language.
- There are exceptions.
"Cow," ushi 牛, shows up in "cow milk," gyuunyuu 牛乳.
"Zebra," shimauma 縞馬, contains "stripes," shima 縞.
"Ant," ari 蟻, shows up in "anteater," arigui 蟻食い.
- There are exceptions.
- The kanji for some animals are just too complex, koumori 蝙蝠, "bat," and kumo 蜘蛛, "spider," for how short the words are, making wasting time writing them not very cost-effective.
Manga that doesn't have furigana for all words may even add furigana for animal words specifically.
Given all this, I've made a sub-site for the list above, bestiary.japanesewithanime.com, which also contains how an animal word is normally spelled, besides their kanji, in case you really need to know.
Word for "Animal" in Japanese
The word for "animal" in Japanese is doubutsu 動物, written with the kanji for "move" and "thing," so, animals are literally "moving things."You might think this doesn't make any sense, but usually something that's moving is something alive. In English, the terms animate and inanimate separate living beings from nonliving objects. And the term reanimate means "to bring back to life." So there's that.
Zoo
The term for "zoo" would be doubutsu-en 動物園, literally a moving thing garden. A similar word is gakuen 学園, a term for a kind of "school."Animal Genders
In Japanese, there are terms that are used specifically to talk about the animals' genders and aren't used toward people. If you call people by these terms, although you'd be correct, you wouldn't be right.That's because people are animals, biologically, but you call someone "an animal" unless you're trying to disrespect them.
osu 雄【メス】
The word osu 雄, also spelled osu 牡, osu オス, means "male (animal)" in Japanese.It's homonym with osu 押す, which means "to push," and the title of that game about clicking frantically like a lunatic who rejoices in breaking their finger index finger bones: Osu!
The term for "male" person would be dansei 男性. An adult "man" is otoko 男, a child "boy" is otoko no ko 男の子, and a term in the middle is danshi 男子.
mesu 雌【メス】
The word mesu 雌, also spelled mesu 牝 mesu メス, means "female (animal)" in Japanese.It's homonym with mesu メス, which means "scalpel," or, in manga with gangs, basically any sort of "shiv" used to stab other people.
Sometimes mesu is used derogatorily toward women, similar to how the term "bitch" can be used derogatorily in English toward a female human even though "bitch" actually means "female dog," mesu-inu メス犬.
Manga: Detroit Metal City, Detoroito Metaru Shithi デトロイト・メタル・シティ
- Context: death metal concert.
- kon'ya no ikenie wa
kono mesu buta ja~
今夜の生け贄は このメス豚じゃ~
Tonight's sacrifice will be this sow~- mesu buta メス豚
Female pig. Sow. - In the panel, "sow" refers to the girl.
- mesu buta メス豚
- kyaa キャアア
*scream* - kahanshin sae areba ii
下半身さえあればいい
So long as there's the lower-body that's enough.
(i.e. they don't need anything besides the lower body. It's a pretty vulgar manga.)
Hermaphroditism
The word for "hermaphroditism" in Japanese is shiyuu-doutai 雌雄同体, which combines the kanji for mesu 雌 and osu 雄 plus doutai 同体, "same body," so, literally, "female, male, same body."Note that the term above is used toward hermaphrodite animals. In case you really suck at biology: some animals are both male and female. I don't know how. Don't ask me. I sucked at biology.
Point is, animals like humans, with each sex in a different body, don't feature hermaphroditism, we feature "gonochorism," or shiyuu-itai 雌雄異体, literally "female, male, different body." This is the same i 異 as of isekai 異世界 by the way.
The term for people who are "intersex" is han'inyou 半陰陽.
Feeding Behavior
Regarding the feeding behavior of animals, they all share the kanji of the word "to eat," taberu 食べる. Just like in English they all share the suffix "-vore," which's from "devour," I guess.Carnivore
The word for "carnivore" in Japanese is nikushoku 肉食. This is something that eats "animals," doubutsu 動物.- niku 肉
Meat. - nikushoku 肉食
Meat-eating. Carnivore. - nikushoku doubutsu 肉食動物
Meat-eating animal. Carnivore animal.
By the way, the term nikushokukei 肉食系 refers to a carnivore-like personality. Specially in the sense of being the "predator" romantically, rather than the "prey," of chasing instead of being chase. In sum: it generally refers to girls who assertively go after the guys they like.
Herbivore
The word for "herbivore" in Japanese is soushoku 草食. This is something that eats "plants," shokubutsu 植物.- kusa 草
Grass.- Also means "lol." See kusa 草 internet slang.
- soushoku 草食
Grass-eating. Herbivore. - soushoku doubutsu 草食動物
Grass-eating animal. Herbivore animal.
By the way, soushokukei 草食系 refers to a herbivore-like personality. Of someone who's "prey" romantically, rather than "predator." Specifically, it generally refers to guys who're too timid to ask girls out.
Omnivore
The word for "omnivore" in Japanese is zasshoku 雑食. This is something that eats either animals or plants.- zatsu 雑
Vague. Rough. Sloppy. Miscellaneous. Mixed. - zasshoku 雑食
Mixed-eating. Omnivore. - zasshoku doubutsu 雑食動物
Mixed-eating animal. Omnivore animal.
This is one is kind of weird, another example: zasshi 雑誌 is a "magazine," and those generally contain articles of all sorts, all "mixed" sorts. Literally, a zasshi is a "mixed publication." Just like doujinshi 同人誌 is a "doujin publication."
Animal Body Parts
Regarding body parts: people have "teeth," ha 歯, but animals have "fangs" kiba 牙.Animals also have "tails," called shippo 尻尾.
Beasts have "fur," ke 毛. Fishes and reptiles have "scales," uroko 鱗.
Regarding wings and feathers:
- tsubasa 翼
Wing.
Wing of a bird, airplane, volleyball player, AE86 Trueno, etc. - hane はね
The non-troublesome way to write either of the three homonyms below. - hane 羽
Wing of a bird or insect.
Feathers of a bird. - hane 翅
Wing of an insect. - hane 羽根
A feather. As in, if you took one off a bird or wing. A loose feather. Used in crafts, etc.
Blades of helicopters, windmills, fans, etc. - umou 羽毛
Plumage. - [「羽」と「羽根」の違い - chigai-allguide.com, 2018-12-17]
The nekomimi 猫耳, "cat ears," are a thing cats have, because they are cats, so obviously they're going to have "cat ears." Which is why people just call a cat's ears "ears," mimi 耳, when talking about them. Nobody is going to say "the cat's cat ears," neko no nekomimi 猫の猫耳.
"Pet" in Japanese
The word for "pet" in Japanese is petto ペット, the katakanization of the English word "pet."A more native term, aigan doubutsu 愛玩動物, "cherished animal," also exists, but is less common.
Japanese also has a verb for "taking (something) as a pet," kau 飼う. From it you get words like "pet dog," kaiinu 飼い犬 and "pet cat," kaineko 飼い猫.
Don't mistake kau 飼う with the homonym kau 買う that means "to buy."
Pet Collar
The "collars" pets wear are called kubiwa 首輪 in Japanese, literally "neck," kubi 首, and "ring," wa 輪, together, so "neck ring."Note that it isn't specific to pets or animals. A slave collar is also a kubiwa, for example. Note, however, that your necktie, the collar of your shirt, and your collarbones are not kubiwa.
By the way, rings people wear on their "fingers," yubi 指, are called yubiwa 指輪.
Pet Owner
There are two terms for "pet owner" in Japanese. One is kainushi 飼い主, literally the "lord of what's been taken as a pet." The other one, goshujinsama ご主人様, is trickier, and has meanings ranging between "lord," "owner," "master," and "husband."
Manga: Zatch Bell!! / Konjiki no Gash Bell!! 金色のガッシュベル!!
— Chapter 7
— Chapter 7
- fufufu フフフ…
*snickering* - omae, goshujin wa
doushita?
おまえ、ご主人は どうした?
You, [what happened to] (where is) your owner? - doko ka e
itte shimatta
no ka...?
どこかへ 行ってしまった のか…?
Did [he] go somewhere?
Animal Food
The food animals eat is called esa 餌. That can be pet food, lure, feed, whatever, it's called esa.- neko de esa 猫の餌
Cat's food. - inu no esa 犬の餌
Dog's food.
In terms for products sometimes katakanizations are used instead, because katakana looks cooler:
- petto fuddo ペットフード
Pet food. - doggu fuddo ドッグフード
Dog food. - kyatto fuddo キャットフード
Cat food.
Animal Training
There are a few terms to refer to an animal's training in Japanese.kunren 訓練
First off, kunren 訓練, "training (somebody)," is a term that can be used toward animals or people that you train.- inu wo kunren suru 犬を訓練する
To train a dog.
This can refer to any sort of training, like training a guide dog for the blind, for example.
shitsuke しつけ
The word shitsuke しつけ, "discipline," also spelled shitsuke 躾, comes from the verb shitsukeru 躾ける, which means "to discipline."It refers to the basic discipline of a pet dog or cat that lives with humans. Walking, sitting, going to toilet, etc.
This term can also be used toward people, like to talk about "disciplining" children. In anime, it's specially used to talk about undisciplined children who run around causing trouble, etc.
choukyou 調教
The term choukyou 調教 also means "training." Although it can be used toward dogs, pets, etc. it's mostly used to talk about "breaking" animals like horses.The term choukyou-shi 調教師 refers to an "animal trainer," by the way.
"Puppy" and "Kitten"
The words "puppy" and "kitten" in Japanese are words koinu 子犬 and koneko 子猫 respectively. This prefix, ko 子, means "child," among other things, so the words are literally "child-dog" and "child-cat."Onomatopoeia
Like all onomatopoeia, the sounds animals make in Japanese are different from the same sounds in English.For example, "meow," the sound cats make, is nya ニャ, nyaa ニャー, nyan ニャン. While "woof," the sound dogs make, is wan ワン.
Sometimes, these words are used as morphemes of other animal-related words.
Anime: Bananya ばなにゃ
The words nyanko にゃんこ and wanko わんこ, for example, are two cute ways to say "cat" and "dog" in Japanese. For added cuteness, throw in a chan ちゃん at the end, like nyanko-chan にゃんこちゃん.
(in Hajime no Ippo はじめの一歩, Ippo's pet dog is called Wanpo ワンポ, a mix of wanko with the po in Ippo's name)
From these words was also born this
One small note: Raccoon in Japanese is not tanuki. Tanuki, also known as a raccoon dog, is an animal that, while they share a likeness to raccoons, are not in fact raccoons. From what I can tell, raccoon in Japanese would simply be the word put into katakana as ラクーン(raku-n).
ReplyDeleteThanks, you're right. タヌキ is a raccoon dog, not a raccoon!
DeleteI'll be reviewing this list soon to check for other mistakes.
By the way, it seems the Japanese word for "raccoon" is usually araiguma アライグマ, written with the words "washing" and "bear." Probably because of their habit of washing their food before eating.
So much knowledge here! I'm gonna share this with my class!
ReplyDelete