Freq. Frequency Top 100,000 Kanji 戌 sign of the dog, 7-9PM, eleventh sign of Chinese zodiac 亥 sign of the hog, 9-11PM, twelfth sign of the Chinese zodiac Related words 北ほく 西せい The standard modern word for northwest, used in everyday contexts, weather forecasts, and navigation.
鬼き 門もん Refers to the northeast or southwest direction in traditional onmyōdō, often associated with the demon gate; 戌亥 is sometimes used in similar esoteric contexts.
Written forms 戌いぬ 亥い Usage 2%
Archaic kanji spelling for the northwest direction, using the zodiac signs for the dog (戌 ) and boar (亥 ).
乾いぬい Usage 95%
Alternate archaic kanji spelling for northwest; also read けん or ほし in other contexts.
いぬい Usage 3%
Kana spelling is practical for learners, as the kanji forms are rare and easily confused with other readings.
Etymology From the Chinese zodiac signs 戌 (dog, associated with west-north) and 亥 (boar, associated with north-north), combined to represent the northwest direction. The reading いぬい is the kun'yomi of the two characters. The alternate kanji 乾 is also used for northwest in traditional directional systems.
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