noun
monkey; ape; non-human primate
The everyday word for a monkey, especially a Japanese macaque in Japanese contexts. It can also be used more loosely for apes or non-human primates, but biological writing may use more specific terms.
See also: ニホンザル
山道で猿の群れを見た。
I saw a troop of monkeys on the mountain path.
動物
There are several kinds of monkeys at the zoo.
noun
sly person
Derogatory use comparing a person to a monkey in the sense of being sly or crafty. As a standalone insult, it is context-dependent and should be used with caution.
彼は相手をだました男を「猿め」とののしった。
He cursed the man who had tricked the other person as a sly monkey.
noun
Derogatory insult implying that someone is foolish, crude, or uncultured. It is offensive and dehumanizing when used of a person.
人を猿呼ばわりするのはやめなさい。
Stop calling people idiots like that.
noun
A specialized term for a wooden sliding bolt or bar used to keep a door or window shut, mainly relevant to traditional fittings.
古い建具では、戸を留める木の横木を猿と呼ぶことがある。
In old fittings, the wooden crosspiece used to fasten a door is sometimes called a saru.
noun
pot-hook height clasp
Traditional hearth terminology: a clasp or fitting used to adjust the height of a pot-hook, associated with 自在鉤.
See also: 自在鉤
囲炉裏の自在鉤には、猿と呼ばれる調節用の金具が付いている。
The pot-hook over the hearth has an adjusting fitting called a saru.
noun
bathhouse prostitute
Archaic term referring to a prostitute associated with bathhouses, corresponding to a historical sense of 湯女. Not used as a modern ordinary noun.
See also: 湯女
江戸時代の資料では、湯女を猿と呼ぶ例がある。
In Edo-period materials, there are examples of bathhouse prostitutes being called saru.
Search-only kanji variant; not a normal spelling for everyday writing.
A specific species, the Japanese macaque; 猿 is the broader everyday word for monkeys.
Means ape or anthropoid ape in a more technical classification; 猿 may loosely include apes in everyday English glossing but is less taxonomically precise.
A fixed derogatory compound meaning shallow or cunning cleverness; it is more specific than calling someone 猿.
さる is a native Japanese animal name; 猿 is the standard kanji conventionally used for it. The exact historical derivation of the word is uncertain, and 猨 is a rare search-only variant.