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ヤマバク (やまばく) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

ヤマバク

Meanings

1

noun

mountain tapir

usually written using kana alone

Refers specifically to Tapirus pinchaque, a tapir species native to the Andes. In Japanese, animal names are often written in katakana.

ヤマバクは南なん米べいの高こう地ちに生せい息そくしている。
The mountain tapir inhabits the highlands of South America.

Written forms

ヤマバク
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is common for this animal name; usually written in kana.
山やま獏ばく
Kanji spelling using 獏 (tapir); rarely used in practice.
山やま貘ばく
Alternate kanji spelling using 貘 (tapir); even less common than 山獏.

Kanji

山mountain
獏

tapir

貘tapir

Similar words

バク
バク is the general term for tapir; ヤマバク specifies the mountain tapir species.
アメリカバク
アメリカバク (Brazilian tapir) is a different species found in lowland South America.

Etymology

Compound of 山 (yama, 'mountain') and バク (baku, 'tapir'), literally 'mountain tapir'.