also: たぬきがお
feigned ignorance face; playing dumb expression
Describes a facial expression where someone pretends not to know or understand something, often with a blank or innocent look, likened to a tanuki (raccoon dog). Used in casual, often humorous contexts.
He said 'I don't know' with a feigned-ignorance face.
After playing a prank, he played dumb with a tanuki-like expression.
Common katakana-kanji mixed spelling; the katakana part emphasizes the tanuki (raccoon dog) reference.
Full kanji spelling; less common and may be harder to read, but valid.
Hiragana-kanji mixed spelling; slightly softer or more casual than the katakana version.
Compound of タヌキ (tanuki, 'raccoon dog') and 顔 (kao, 'face'), referring to the stereotypical blank or innocent expression of a tanuki, often associated with trickery in Japanese folklore.