The Japanese word for hyena is tategami-inu (traditional Japanese) and haiena (English loanword). The word tategami-inu, although being Japanese, is seldomly used and instead it is far more common for Japanese people to use the English loanword.
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| Romanji | Kanji | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyena (traditional Japanese) たてがみ犬 | Tategami-inu | 鬣犬 | |
| Hyena (English loanword) ハイエナ | Haiena | None | |
| Spotted hyena ブチハイエナ | Buchi haiena | None | |
| Striped hyena シマハイエナ | Shima haiena | None |
Interesting facts about hyenas in Japan
Japan has a total of 16 spotted hyenas in 7 zoos across the country. A story in Japan made international news in 2014 when a zoo tried unsuccessfully for a number of years to breed two hyenas only to eventually discover that they were both male. Read the story here.