Related words 山やま 犬いぬ Sometimes used synonymously with ニホンオオカミ in older texts, but can also refer to feral dogs or a legendary creature; ニホンオオカミ is the precise modern term for the extinct subspecies.
エゾオオカミ The Hokkaido wolf (Canis lupus hattai), another extinct Japanese wolf subspecies; larger than the Japanese wolf.
Written forms にほんオオカミ
Mixed hiragana-katakana spelling; less common than the full katakana form.
日に 本ほん オオカミ
Kanji-katakana spelling; used in some scientific or formal contexts.
日本にほん 狼おおかみ
Full kanji spelling; rarely used and may be unfamiliar to many readers.
にほんおおかみ
Etymology Compound of 日本 (Nihon, 'Japan') and オオカミ (ōkami, 'wolf'). The kanji spelling 狼 is the native Japanese word for wolf.
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