日本猿

Japanese

Kanji in this term
日	本	猿
にち > に Grade: 1	ほん Grade: 1	さる > ざる Grade: S
irregular	on’yomi	kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
ニホンザル

Etymology

日本 (Nihon, “Japan”) +‎ 猿 (saru, “monkey”)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) にほんざ​る [nìhóńzáꜜrù] (Nakadaka – [4])
• IPA^(key): [ɲ̟ihõ̞nd͡za̠ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

日(に)本(ほん)猿(ざる) or 日本猿(ニホンザル) • (Nihonzaru) 

1. a Japanese macaque

Usage notes

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ニホンザル.

Descendants

• → Korean: 일본원숭이 (Ilbonwonsung'i) (calque)
• → Vietnamese: khỉ Nhật Bản (calque)