What is the Japanese word for fox?

edited May 2011 in General
Does anyone know the Japanese word for fox?

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Comments

  • Is it fokkusu?
  • Kitsune.

    Also a mythical beast.
  • kind of cool that is the same word, huh?

    Also, these, which I used in a short story once (I got them from a book on fox spirits and other supernatural beings of Japan): Genko, Shakko, Kiko, Nogitusne. Koryo, Kuko, Reiko, Tenko: Black fox, red fox, spirit fox, wild prankster fox. Haunting fox, goblin fox, ghost fox, celestial fox.

  • The Fox (Kitsune) is linked in Japanese mythology to the goddess Inari, the deity of rice cultivation. The foxes were considered to be her messengers, but sometimes she is depicted as a fox herself. Kitsune are shapeshifters, they can generate fire through their tails (they have up to 9 of those), they can bend time and space and drive people mad (Kitsunetsuki, fox-lunacy or being possesed by a fox spirit). I named of my JA Kitsunetsuki (though we call her Tsuki :grin: suits her fine, my adorable beast). I haven"t heard of fokkusu before and i did spent a bit of time researching the Kitsune. Where did you find it?
  • aykayk
    edited May 2011
    "Fokkusu" looks to be the English word "fox" phonetically spelt out in Japanese. Sort of like translating a proper name rather than translating the meaning.

    Here's a link that I hope is helpful:

    http://www.stockkanji.com/Fox_foX_fokkusu
  • Thanks for the help. :o)

    I found "Fokkusu" in a translation app on my phone, so that would make sense that it's the phonetically-spelled version.

    Jen and I were talking about how fox-like Akashi is, and so I was wondering if there was a word for "fox" but I couldn't find what I was looking for (tho, admittedly, I didn't put a huge amount of effort into it).

    So, based on Lisa's list, does "Genko" mean "black fox"? That's fitting for him. We've been calling him "Mr. Fox" because he reminds us of Mr. Fox from "Fantastic Mr. Fox".

    Thanks for the link, Ann! :o)

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  • You changing his name?
  • @hondru - Nope, we were just thinking of a nickname.

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  • A google search revealed:
    Kitsune (狐?, IPA: [kitsɯne] ( listen)) is the Japanese word for fox.
    and
    Definition for fokkusu's:
    Fokkusu - Fox McCloud|フォックス・マクラウド|Fokkusu Makuraudo is an anthropomorphic video game character from the Star Fox series. He was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and designed by Takaya Imamura. As his name implies, he is a red fox and the main player character of the series.. More »
  • edited May 2011
    Here's another link that might be helpful:
    http://www.jisho.org/words?jap=&eng=fox&dict=edict

    I think that fokkusu, written in katakana, is a transliteration more often used for foxes of foreign origin, or terms related to foxes like foxtrot (fokkusu torotto)... fox terrier (fokkusu teria) or 20th Century Fox. That's not a hard and fast rule though? (EDIT: No, actually, it's fairly consistent) There's also a term Ookoumori under "fruit bat; flying fox; megabat" -- which obviously aren't really foxes.

    http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/フォックス

    You'll see Fokkusu everywhere from the name of an 18th century English racehorse to Fox guided missiles to the other examples mentioned. (Yup, I use Wikipedia too... just as a start though. =])
  • also
    shiruba-fokkusu to mean 'silver fox', but I couldnt get fokkusu to come up alone outside of deviant art.
  • In the list I saw, Genko was supposed to mean black fox. I say supposed to, because this was a book of folklore, written by an American expat in the 50s or 60s (I found a scanned version online, but can't find the link at the moment), so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the translation, though the book had some scholarly pretenses.

    On a side note, when I lived in Japan, I was fascinated by the Inari shrines, esp. the little "fox holes" in some of the shrines so the foxes (spirits) could get in and out. This led to a lot of questions about fox spirits in general. The consensus of my students was funny: of course we don't really believe that there are fox spirits. But just in case there are, we leave offerings for them, and are very careful where we talk about them, so as not to draw their attention to us!

    A sensible take on things, I thought! :)
  • could not find fokkusu in Websters Japanese Dictionary, in fact there were no fo words listed. but it is copyright 1997
  • I think Curly Tails must be correct, and that the term "shiruba-fokkusu" must imply that the silver fox is not native to Japan even when worn as a coat.

    I am a total novice, but I tested dictionary words (nouns, really) by googling the japanese word (kana) and seeing what images google came up with.
  • FYI, if you ever find yourself in Kyoto, I highly recommend spending a half a day at the Fushimi Inarii Jinja that's a couple train stops outside of Kyoto proper. Inarii likes red gates, so the whole shrine complex is covered in these red gates that cut a maze of paths all over the mountain. Very surreal experience exploring it, and it seems to creep a lot of Japanese people out.

    Inarii is popular with some Japanese but for the most part, she's an unpredictable, trickster type of deity and most of the shines built for her are there so she won't get pissed off and f*** your life up. Most large shrines have a small shrine dedicated to her - but placed OUTSIDE of the main shrine complex ("please don't come in here!").
  • Fokkusu is just katakana for the foreign word 'fox' -- kitsune is the japanese word and the diety Kenshi is referring to is the kami of blacksmiths, foxes, fertility and some other stuff
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