熊

• Reading: くま
• Romaji: kuma
• Kanji breakdown: 熊 (kuma) — bear; composed of 能 (ability) + 灬 (fire dots)
• Pronunciation: /kɯ.ma/

Meaning

Bear. Any large mammal of the family Ursidae.

Japan has two native bear species: ツキノワグマ (Asian black bear) on Honshu and Shikoku, and ヒグマ (brown bear) in Hokkaido. Bear encounters (熊出没) are a real concern in rural areas. 熊 also appears in many place names and surnames like 熊本 (Kumamoto).

Examples

1. 北海道の山には熊がいるそうです。 I heard there are bears in the mountains of Hokkaido.
2. ハイキング中に熊に注意してください。 Please watch out for bears while hiking.
3. 動物園で小さな熊の赤ちゃんを見ました。 I saw a little bear cub at the zoo.

Usage Guide

Context: nature, animals, safety

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

The kanji 熊 combines 能 (ability) and 灬 (fire radical at the bottom), though the connection to bears is largely through convention and phonetic borrowing from Chinese.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal