One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.

Share this page

Kanji Detail for 猿 - "monkey, ape"

猿

  • Meaning

    猿 means "monkey, ape."

    1. Monkey - A primate animal.

    2. Ape - A tailless primate.

    3. Clever - Cunning like a monkey.

  • Four-character idioms with 猿

    • 心猿意馬 しんえんいば Listen (being unable to control) one's worldly desires and passions
    • 意馬心猿 いばしんえん Listen it is hard to keep one's worldly desires and passions in check
    • 猿猴捉月 えんこうそくげつ Listen trying to reach above one's station and failing; trying to accomplish something beyond one's abilities and failing
    • 籠鳥檻猿 ろうちょうかんえん Listen denied freedom (of how to live one's life)

  • Tattoo check: 猿

    • Verified meaning: monkey, ape
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read さる, ましら, ませ)

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 猿

    Given names 猿(さる)Listen

    Surnames 猿(ましら)Listen 猿(ませ)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    monkey

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    ape

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    variant of 猿[yuan2]

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    ape

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    A beast name. Form resembles a human. Can sit and stand. All four limbs are like hands. No tail. Same family as monkeys. However, monkeys have loose skin below the cheeks like a pouch that can store food, called cheek pouches. On the buttocks there is hardened bare skin, red in color, called the seat pad. They also have short tails. Apes have none of these. In terms of anthropology, apes resemble humans, monkeys resemble dogs. This is the difference between apes and monkeys.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    en(エン) エン

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    saru(さる) さる

  • Strokes

    tip

    13 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    犬 犭 (inu・kemonohen)

  • Related Keywords

    monkey ape animal primate simian agile wildlife

Sentences including 猿

  • They get along like a cat and a dog.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 犬 犭 (inu・kemonohen)

See all kanji with this radical →

Share This Page

Share this link via

Or copy link