アライグマ
araiguma
The Japanese word for raccoon is アライグマ (araiguma).
The word refers to the nocturnal omnivorous mammal native to North America, Procyon lotor.
Meaning: nocturnal omnivore living in North America, Procyon lotor (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
araiguma
Did you know?
- The word アライグマ literally means 'washing bear' because it combines 洗う 'to wash' and 熊 'bear'.
- While アライグマ refers to the North American species, the native タヌキ is a central figure in Japanese folklore and is often depicted as a shapeshifter.
- The word for raccoon is written in Katakana アライグマ because it is a non-native animal, whereas the native raccoon dog is usually written in Kanji 狸.
Examples in context
- アライグマは水を飲みます。The raccoon drinks water.This sentence shows how to use アライグマ when describing the animal's behavior of drinking water.Tatoeba #13595690 by Seael, translation #10890891 by rul
- あれはアライグマです。That is a raccoon.
- アライグマはとても賢い動物です。araiguma wa totemo kashikoi doubutsu desu.Raccoons are very intelligent animals.
- 公園にアライグマがいました。kouen ni araiguma ga imashita.There was a raccoon in the park.
Example conversation
Kenta and Misaki are looking at a photo of an animal.
- 美咲 Misakiこの動物は何ですか？kono dōbutsu wa nan desu ka?What is this animal?
- 健太 Kentaこれはアライグマですよ。kore wa araiguma desu yo.This is a raccoon.
- 美咲 Misakiかわいいですね。kawaii desu ne.It's cute, isn't it?
- 健太 Kentaええ、とてもかわいいです。ee, totemo kawaii desu.Yes, it is very cute.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry アライグマ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
