tanuki; raccoon dog
Refers to the animal Nyctereutes procyonoides, a canid native to East Asia. In Japanese folklore, the tanuki is often depicted as a mischievous, shape-shifting creature.
I saw a tanuki in the garden last night.
The tanuki is an animal that often appears in Japanese folk tales.
sly person; cunning devil; sly old fox
Figurative use comparing a person to the crafty tanuki of folklore. Often used in a half-joking, half-critical way to describe someone who is shrewd or manipulative.
That guy is a sly fox, so you'd better be careful.
She's a cunning person; you never know what she's thinking.
That politician is said to be a sly old fox.
There's an old story that travelers used to be tricked by tanuki on this mountain.
In folk tales, the story of a tanuki turning into a tea kettle is famous.
狐 and 狸 are both trickster animals in folklore, but 狐 (fox) tops noodles with fried tofu while 狸 (raccoon dog) tops them with tempura scraps.
アライグマ (raccoon) is a North American species with a ringed tail, while 狸 (tanuki) is the native Japanese raccoon dog, a distinct canine species often confused with it due to similar appearance.
counter for small animals · counter for rolls of cloth · archaic counter for horses · roll of cloth
old badger; veteran; old fox; schemer
hyrax
tanuki soup; raccoon dog soup
cunning old man; sly old fox
bladderwort
small tanuki
supernatural tanuki; monster tanuki
tanuki belly-drumming; sound of tanuki drumming on their bellies
wooly frogsmouth; wooly waterlily
Standard kanji spelling; commonly used in literature and formal contexts.
Katakana spelling used especially in biological contexts or for emphasis.
Kana spelling is very common in everyday writing.
Rarely used kanji form; not recommended for learners.
The word たぬき is of native Japanese origin. The kanji 狸 is a Chinese character adopted for its meaning, though the exact historical derivation is uncertain.
tanuki soba; soba with tempura batter bits