Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tanuki

/tɑˈnuki/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.05 in modern English

Syllables: ta-nuki
IPA: /tɑˈnuki/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A raccoon dog, Nyctereutes viverrinus.

noun

A folkloric figure in the form of a tanuki, regarded as a shapeshifter and renowned for its enormous scrotum and testicles.

noun

The joining of a living bonsai tree to a piece of dead wood for aesthetic effect.

Example Sentences

"At my onboarding, I was told that one of GitHub's employees identified as a tanuki, a Japanese raccoon dog—this was fine."

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 狸(たぬき) (tanuki, “raccoon dog”).

Origin

Source language: Japanese

Word Breakdown

Root: -

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /tɑˈnuki/
British English: /təˈnʊkɪ/

Inflected Forms

tanukis (plural) tanooki (alternative)

Synonyms

mangut

Rhymes With

rookie cookie bookie kooky hooky looky wookiee nookie kookie wookey booky hookey

Questions

How do you pronounce tanuki?: The recorded pronunciation is /tɑˈnuki/.
What does tanuki mean?: A raccoon dog, Nyctereutes viverrinus.
Where does tanuki come from?: It is traced to Japanese.

How to pronounce tanuki

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tanuki”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tɑˈnuki/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tanuki”.
Repeat and practice — Say “tanuki” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.