貘
tapir
Strokes17
Readings
On'yomi
- バク
- ミャク
Kun'yomi
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Meaning
貘 refers specifically to the tapir, a large browsing mammal with a short prehensile snout. The meaning is narrow and concrete, without broader abstract extensions.
Most common words using 貘
- アメリカ貘アメリカばく
Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris); lowland tapir
Study
Etymology
貘 combines the beast radical 豸 with the phonetic 莫. The character was originally used for a leopard-like animal in Chinese texts, but in modern Japanese it specifically denotes the tapir.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side 豸 suggests a clawed animal, and the right side 莫 looks like a large snout and body. Picture a tapir with its distinctive short trunk: 貘 is a tapir.
Reading mnemonic
For バク, imagine a tapir backing slowly into the forest: back -> バク, and the tapir's rump disappears into the trees.