noun
Refers to shrews, small insectivorous mammals of the family Soricidae, especially those of the genus Sorex. In everyday Japanese, the katakana form トガリネズミ is standard.
トガリネズミは小さな昆虫を食べる。
Shrews eat small insects.
庭でトガリネズミを見つけた。
I found a shrew in the garden.
Compound of 尖り (togari, 'pointed, sharp') + 鼠 (nezumi, 'mouse, rat'), referring to the shrew's pointed snout. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the name is descriptive.