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Definition 2024

招き猫

招き猫

Japanese

招き猫: a maneki-neko with a motorized waving paw.
Kanji in this term
招 猫
まね
Grade: 5 		ねこ
Grade: S
kun'yomi

Alternative forms

Noun

招き猫 ‎(hiragana まねきねこ, romaji maneki neko)

  1. beckoning cat (figure of a cat with one paw raised)

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

Etymology

Compound of 招き ‎(maneki, “beckoning, inviting”, stem of verb 招く maneku, “to beckon, to invite”) +‎ 猫 ‎(neko, “cat”).[1][2]

In Japanese culture, holding one's hand with the palm downwards and waving vertically is a gesture used to beckon someone. This is somewhat similar to an upside-down version of the beckoning gesture used in US culture. The way that cats will sometimes wave a front paw in the air is also similar to this Japanese beckoning gesture, giving rise to the iconic image of the maneki neko. This image is often used to beckon customers into a shop.

See the Wikipedia articles for more detail.

Pronunciation

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