ヒグマ

ひ

ぐ

ま

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

brown bear

usually written using kana alone

Refers specifically to the brown bear (Ursus arctos), native to Hokkaido in Japan.

北ほっ海かい道どうではヒグマに注ちゅう意いが必ひつ要ようです。
In Hokkaido, you need to be careful of brown bears.
ヒグマは雑ざっ食しょく性せいの大おお型がた哺ほ乳にゅう類るいです。
The brown bear is a large omnivorous mammal.

Written forms

ヒグマUsage81%
kana-only spelling
Usually written in katakana; usually written in kana.
羆Usage16%
- ひぐま
  Rare kanji form; not commonly used.
- ひ
  out-dated reading
- しくま
  out-dated reading
- しぐま
  out-dated reading
ひぐまUsage3%
Hiragana spelling, also acceptable.
ひ
out-dated reading
しくま
out-dated reading
しぐま
out-dated reading

Kanji

羆brown bear

Similar words

ツキノワグマ
Asian black bear, a different species found in Honshu and other parts of Japan, smaller than the brown bear.
ホッキョクグマ
Polar bear, a different species adapted to Arctic regions.

Etymology

The reading ひぐま is a compound of ひ (likely from 火 'fire', referring to the brownish color) and くま 'bear'. The kanji 羆 is a specific character for brown bear, but its origin is uncertain.