noun
Japanese chimera; mythical creature
A legendary monster with a monkey's head, tanuki body, tiger limbs, and snake tail. Often associated with ominous cries.
鵺は平安時代の物語に登場する妖怪だ。
The nue is a monster that appears in Heian-period tales.
夜中に鵺の鳴き声が聞こえたという伝説がある。
There is a legend that the cry of a nue was heard in the middle of the night.
noun
White's thrush; scaly thrush
A bird (Zoothera dauma) whose nocturnal call resembles the mythical nue's cry, hence the name. Also called トラツグミ.
See also: トラツグミ
ぬえは夜に鳴く鳥で、その声が不気味だと言われる。
The nue is a bird that calls at night, and its voice is said to be eerie.
noun
Figurative use for a person whose true nature or intentions are hard to grasp, like the mythical creature.
彼は何を考えているかわからない、まるで鵺のような男だ。
He's a man you can never tell what he's thinking, just like a nue.
Rarely used kanji form.
トラツグミ is the standard ornithological name for White's thrush, while ぬえ is the traditional name derived from folklore.
The word ぬえ is of uncertain origin, but it has been used since the Heian period to refer to a mythical chimera. The bird name comes from the resemblance of its nocturnal call to the legendary creature's cry.