狼の群れ
ōkami no mure
To say wolf pack in Japanese, use 狼の群れ (ōkami no mure), meaning a group of wolves that live and hunt together.
狼の群れ is the everyday way to talk about a pack of wolves, for example in nature programs or research. The word for wolf is also often written in katakana, as in 私たちの研究チームは、オオカミの群れを研究しています, which means our research team is studying a wolf pack.
What does it mean word for word?
狼 means wolf, の is the particle meaning of and 群れ means group, herd or pack. Literally it is a group of wolves.
How does it change in a sentence?
Japanese nouns do not change for plural, so 狼の群れ can mean either wolf pack or wolf packs depending on context.
How do you pronounce it?
Say ōkami no mure with a long ō at the start.
Did you know?
- Japan's native wolf, the Honshū wolf, is extinct, so 狼の群れ now almost exclusively refers to foreign species or fictional depictions in modern Japanese conversation.
- In Japanese folklore, the wolf 狼 was once revered as a 'mountain god' (山の神) who protected crops from wild boars and deer, rather than being seen as a predator to fear.
- In Japanese, the word for wolf, 狼 (ōkami), is a homophone for the word meaning 'god' or 'spirit', 大神 (ōkami).
Examples in context
- 狼の群れが森の中を走っています。Ookami no mure ga mori no naka o hashitte imasu.A wolf pack is running through the forest.
- 狼の群れは非常に強い絆を持っています。Ookami no mure wa hijō ni tsuyoi kizuna o motte imasu.A wolf pack has a very strong bond.
- 夜に狼の群れの遠吠えが聞こえました。Yoru ni ookami no mure no tōboe ga kikoemashita.I heard the howling of a wolf pack at night.
Example conversation
Two friends are watching a nature documentary on television.
- 陽葵 Himariあの狼の群れはとても強そうね。Ano ookami no mure wa totemo tsuyosō ne.That wolf pack looks very strong.
- 蓮 Renそうだね、連携がすごいよ。Sō da ne, renkei ga sugoi yo.You're right, their coordination is amazing.
- 陽葵 Himari一緒に狩りをするんだね。Issho ni kari o suru n da ne.They hunt together, don't they?
- 蓮 Renああ、それが彼らの生存戦略だよ。Aa, sore ga karera no seizon senryaku da yo.Yeah, that is their survival strategy.
