山犬

Japanese
Kanji in this term
山 犬
やま
Grade: 1		 いぬ
Grade: 1
kun’yomi
山犬 (yamainu): a sketch of a Japanese wild dog.

Etymology

Compound of 山 (yama, “mountain”) +‎ 犬 (inu, “dog”).[1][2][3][4]

Pronunciation

Noun

山(やま)犬(いぬ) or 山犬(ヤマイヌ) • (yamainu) 

  1. Synonym of 日本狼 (Nihon'ōkami, “Japanese wolf”)
  2. Synonym of 野犬 (yaken, “wild dog”)
  3. (Japanese mythology) an apparition of a dog that may appear to travelers on mountain roads, and that may be either friendly or murderous to travelers
  4. Synonym of ドール (dōru, “dhole”)

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ヤマイヌ.

Biologists consider the Japanese yamainu to be a feral dog, distinct from the wolf. The conflation with the 日本狼 (Nihon ōkami, “Japanese wolf”) sense is due to some confusion in general usage. See more on Wikipedia.

Synonyms
  • (canine apparition appearing to travelers): 送(おく)り犬(いぬ) (okuriinu)

See also

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
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