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

Kun’yomi

(Tokyo) やまいぬ [yàmáínú] (Heiban – [0])[2][5][4]
IPA^(key): [ja̠ma̠inɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

山(やま)犬(いぬ) • (yamainu)

Synonym of 日本狼 (Nihon'ōkami, “Japanese wolf”)
Synonym of 野犬 (yaken, “wild dog”)
(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
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)

References

1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

[DJR-2] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[DJS-3] 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[SMK5-4] 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-5] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

山犬