化け猫

Japanese
Kanji in this term
化 猫
ば
Grade: 3		 ねこ
Grade: S
kun’yomi
化け猫: an example of a goblin cat apparition.

Etymology

Compound of 化け (bake, “transformation, taking the form of; monster”, stem of verb 化ける (bakeru, “to transform, to change into something else”)) +‎ 猫 (neko, “cat”).[1]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) ばけねこ [bàkénékó] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA(key): [ba̠ke̞ne̞ko̞]

Noun

化(ば)け猫(ねこ) • (bakeneko) 

  1. (Japanese mythology) a monster cat; a goblin cat; a cat with magical powers
    In Japanese folklore, this entity was believed to be a magical cat, sometimes capable of transforming itself into a person or various other forms.

See also

See also

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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