also: メスいぬ
bitch; female dog
Neutral term for a female dog. Note that the English gloss 'bitch' can be vulgar when applied to people, but the Japanese word is not inherently offensive.
Our female dog gave birth to puppies.
あの雌犬はとてもおとなしい。
That female dog is very gentle.
Standard kanji spelling for 'female dog'.
Uncommon variant using the older kanji 牝 for 'female'.
Mixed kanji-katakana spelling; sometimes used for clarity or emphasis.
Compound of 雌 (めす, 'female') and 犬 (いぬ, 'dog'). The reading めいぬ is a contraction of めすいぬ.