狸
Meanings
tanuki; raccoon dog
Refers to the animal Nyctereutes procyonoides, a canid native to East Asia. In Japanese folklore, the tanuki is often depicted as a mischievous, shape-shifting creature.
I saw a tanuki in the garden last night.
The tanuki is an animal that often appears in Japanese folk tales.
sly person; cunning devil; sly old fox
Figurative use comparing a person to the crafty tanuki of folklore. Often used in a half-joking, half-critical way to describe someone who is shrewd or manipulative.
That guy is a sly fox, so you'd better be careful.
She's a cunning person; you never know what she's thinking.
Usage patterns
- 〈人〉は食えない狸だto describe someone as a sly, hard-to-read old fox
That politician is said to be a sly old fox.
- 狸に化かされるto be bewitched or tricked by a tanuki (in folklore)
There's an old story that travelers used to be tricked by tanuki on this mountain.
- 狸が〈物〉に化けるfor a tanuki to transform into something (in folklore)
In folk tales, the story of a tanuki turning into a tea kettle is famous.