猫

See also: 貓 and 描

猫	U+732B, 猫 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-732B

← 猪
[U+732A]

CJK Unified Ideographs

猬 →
[U+732C]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Stroke order (Japan)

Japanese	猫
Simplified	猫
Traditional	貓

Han character

猫 (Kangxi radical 94, 犬+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 大竹廿田 (KHTW), four-corner 4426₀, composition ⿰犭苗)

Derived characters

𢵝, 𫫯

References

KangXi: page 714, character 27

Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 20535

Dae Jaweon: page 1127, character 1

Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1352, character 1

Unihan data for U+732B

Chinese

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (苗) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
貓	mreːw, mrew
描	mreːw, mrew
媌	mreːw, mreːwʔ
緢	mreːwʔ, mreːws, *mrew
苗	*mrew
猫	*mrew
庿	*mrews

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mrew) : semantic 犬 + phonetic 苗 (OC *mrew).

Definitions

For pronunciation and definitions of 猫 – see 貓 (“cat; to hide oneself; etc.”). (This character, 猫, is the simplified and variant form of 貓.)
Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Japanese

Kanji

猫

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

Go-on: みょう (myō)^{←めう (meu, historical)}
Kan-on: びょう (byō, Jōyō)^{←べう (beu, historical)}; ぼう (bō)^{←ばう (bau, historical)}
Kun: ねこ (neko, 猫, Jōyō)

Compounds

愛(あい)猫(びょう) (aibyō): beloved cat; love for cats
怪(かい)猫(びょう) (kaibyō): a monster cat
成(せい)猫(びょう) (seibyō): fully-grown cat
斑(はん)猫(みょう) (hanmyō): tiger beetle
猫(びょう)額(がく) (byōgaku): cat's forehead, smallness as that of a cat's forehead
猫(びょう)睛(せい)石(せき) (byōseiseki): cat's-eye
霊(れい)猫(びょう) (reibyō): civet

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
猫
ねこ Grade: S
kun’yomi

⟨neko₁⟩ → /neko/

From Old Japanese. Cognate with Miyako にか (nika, “cat”, Tarama and Minna dialects) via unknown Japonic substratum.

A comparison of accent patterns between the dialects shows some confusion:

One group of dialects behaves as if <LF> was the Heian Kyoto accent pattern: many dialects with the Tokyo type accent, including the standard Japanese in Tokyo, pronounce this word with an <HL(L)> pitch pattern, and in some non-mainstream Keihan type dialects as well, this word has a corresponding <LF> pitch pattern.
Another group of dialects behaves as if <LL> was the Heian Kyoto accent pattern: the mainstream Keihan type dialects pronounce this word with an <HL> pitch pattern, and in a few of the Tokyo type dialects, this word has a corresponding <LH(L)> pitch pattern.

As a result, this term is one example of words that have the same pitch accent pattern between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto. The confusion seems to be due to an impression that the term comes from a compound word origin.

One theory explains that neko is shortened from earlier 猫(ねこま) (nekoma), but neko has a first appearance in literature earlier than that for nekoma.

First attested in the 新訳華厳経音義私記 (Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki) of 794.

794, Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki

猫狸 [...] ニ又漢云野貍、倭言上尼古、下多〻既

Cat and raccoon dog, [...] both of them are called 野貍 (yari) in Chinese; the former is called 尼古 (⟨neko₁⟩ → neko) while the latter is called 多〻既 (⟨tatake₂⟩ → tatake) in Japanese.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ねこ [néꜜkò] (Atamadaka – [1])[1][2]
IPA^(key): [ne̞ko̞]
Audio (file)

Noun

猫(ねこ) • (neko) (counter 匹)

[from 794] a cat
猫(ねこ)が二(に)匹(ひき)居(い)る。
Neko ga nihiki iru.
There are two cats.
家(いえ)には猫(ねこ)が三匹(さんびき)います。
Ie ni wa neko ga sanbiki imasu.
There are three cats in the house.

Derived terms

子(こ)猫(ねこ) (koneko), 仔猫(こねこ) (koneko): a kitten
黒(くろ)猫(ねこ) (kuroneko): a black cat
麝(じゃ)香(こう)猫(ねこ) (jakō neko): civet
シュレーディンガーの猫(ねこ) (Shurēdingā no neko): Schrödinger's cat
猫(ねこ)手(て) (nekote)
猫(ねこ)間(ま) (nekoma)
猫(ねこ)又(また) (nekomata)
猫(ねこ)耳(みみ) (nekomimi): nekomimi
唐(から)猫(ねこ) (karaneko)
化(ば)け猫(ねこ) (bakeneko): a monster cat
招(まね)き猫(ねこ) (manekineko)
虎(とら)猫(ねこ) (toraneko)
どら猫(ねこ) (doraneko)
山(やま)猫(ねこ) (yamaneko)
猫(ねこ)可愛(かわい)がり (nekokawaigari)
三(み)毛(け)猫(ねこ) (mikeneko): a calico cat

Idioms

猫(ねこ)も杓(しゃく)子(し)も (neko mo shakushi mo)
猫(ねこ)の手(て)も借(か)りたい (neko no te mo karitai)
猫舌(ねこじた) (nekojita): "cat tongue", someone who is incapable of drinking or eating anything hot due to having an overly sensitive tongue
猫(ねこ)に鰹(かつお)節(ぶし) (neko ni katsuobushi)
猫(ねこ)に小(こ)判(はん) (neko ni kohan): pearls before swine
猫(ねこ)の額(ひたい) (neko no hitai)
借(か)りてきた猫(ねこ) (karite kita neko)
猫(ねこ)を被(かぶ)る (neko o kaburu): feign innocence

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
猫
ねこま Grade: S
kun’yomi

According to the 和名類聚抄 (Wamyō Ruijushō), 931–938, 猫(ねこ) (neko) is short for this word.

931–938, Minamoto no Shitagō, Wamyō Ruijushō (book 7, page 56)

猫: 野王案、猫、音苗、禰古麻、下總本有和名二字興河海抄引此合、本草和名同訓、或省云禰古、新撰字鏡、狸、禰古、按狸一名猫、見本草和名、似虎而小、熊捕鼠為糧

One theory describes the first mora <ne> as onomatopoeia for the sound a cat makes (cf. にゃ (nya); compare English mew, meow). The last two morae <ko₁ma> might accord with 熊(くま) (kuma, “bear”) if it were from Proto-Japonic *kòmà, in the sense of "four-legged animal".The Heian Kyoto accent of this word is <LHL>; note that in compound words for species names, the pitch pattern may be simplised to <-HL> when the final element is a 2-mora noun, and the presence or absence of this phenomenon could explain the accent confusion in neko.(Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

However, nekoma is first cited to 918 in the 本草和名 (Honzō Wamyō, the oldest surviving dictionary of medicine in Japan),[3] while neko is first attested in 794.

c. 918, Honzō Wamyō

家狸、一名猫、和名禰古末

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ne̞ko̞ma̠]

Noun

猫(ねこま) • (nekoma)

[918–???] (obsolete) a cat

References

2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third 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
“猫ま”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN

Minamoto, Shitagō; Kyōto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokugogaku Kokubungaku Kenkyūshitu (931–938) Shohon Shūsei Wamyō Ruijushō: Honbunhen (in Japanese), Kyōto: Rinsen, published 1968, →ISBN.

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 猫 (MC mˠiᴇu). Recorded as Middle Korean 貓/묘 (myo) (Yale: myo) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Wikisource猫 (eumhun 고양이 묘 (goyang'i myo))

Hanja form^? of 묘 (“cat”).

Compounds

가묘 (家猫, gamyo)
반려묘 (伴侶猫, ballyeomyo)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Okinawan

Kanji

猫

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

On: まやー (mayā, 猫)

Compounds

赤猫 (あかまやー, akamayā, “red tabby cat”)
黒猫 (くるまやー, kurumayā, “black cat”)
白猫 (しるまやー, shirumayā, “white cat”)
猫子, 猫小 (まやーぐゎー, mayāgwā, “cat; kitten”)
まんちゃーまやー (manchāmayā, “tricolour cat”)
山猫 (やままやー, yamamayā, “mountain cat”)

Noun

猫 (hiragana まやー, rōmaji mayā)

cat

References

“まやー・まやあ【猫】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

Yaeyama

Kanji

猫 (hiragana まやー, romaji mayā)

Noun

猫 (hiragana まやー, romaji mayā)

cat

Yoron

Kanji

猫 (hiragana みゃんか, romaji myanka)

Noun

猫 (hiragana みゃんか, romaji myanka)

cat

[DJR-1] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-2] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

[KDJ2-nekoma-3] “猫ま”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN