Bear in Japanese: 熊 (kuma) — writing, readings and words
Bear in Japanese is 熊 (くま, kuma), 14 strokes. Two species live in Japan: the brown bear ヒグマ on Hokkaido and the Asian black bear ツキノワグマ on the other islands — its name means "moon-ring bear" because of the light crescent on its chest. Inside compounds, kuma often voices to guma: 子熊 (koguma) — bear cub.
The word 熊 is not confined to zoos in Japan: it is part of the name of an entire prefecture and of a mascot that the country made its ambassador. The character also has its own logic of readings.
What the character for "bear" looks like — 熊
熊 — значение: bear, bear's (in names and place names) — онъёми: ユウ — кунъёми: くま — 14 штрих(ов).
The structure of the character and the voicing of kuma → guma
熊 is a complex character: on top is the part responsible for the bear as an animal, below are four dots 灬 — the trace of fire, originally indicating the color of the fur. On its own the word is read kuma, but in the second half of compounds the sound often voices to guma: 子熊 (koguma, bear cub), 穴熊 (anaguma, badger — literally "hole-bear"). The same voicing is heard in ツキノワグマ, the name of the Asian black bear.
Kumamon, Kumamoto and the moon collar
| Japanese | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 熊 | kuma · kuma | Bear |
| 子熊 | koguma · koguma | Bear cub |
| ヒグマ | higuma · higuma | Brown bear (lives only on Hokkaido) |
| ツキノワグマ | tsukinowaguma · tsukinowaguma | Asian black bear (literally "moon-ring bear") |
| 熊本 | kumamoto · kumamoto | Kumamoto Prefecture |
| くまモン | kumamon · kumamon | Mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture (a black bear cub with red cheeks) |
| 熊手 | kumade · kumade | Decorative rake for good luck (sold at the autumn tori-no-ichi fairs) |
Why the Asian black bear is called "moon"
The ツキノワグマ has a light crescent-shaped patch on its chest — hence the name: 月の輪熊, "moon-ring bear". The brown ヒグマ, by comparison, is larger and lives only on Hokkaido, where an encounter with one is not an urban legend but an everyday risk for tourists. Kumamon, the black-and-red bear-cub mascot, was created to promote 熊本 (Kumamoto) Prefecture — whose name begins with the same character.
Trace 熊 along the guides
Draw each stroke of 熊 in the correct order.
FAQ
- How do you say "bear" in Japanese?
- 熊 (くま, kuma), 14 strokes. In compounds the sound often voices to guma: ツキノワグマ, 子熊.
- Why is the Asian black bear in Japan called "moon"?
- Because of the light crescent on its chest: 月の輪熊 literally means "moon-ring bear". From this comes the shortened name ツキノワグマ.
- What does Kumamon have to do with 熊本 Prefecture?
- 熊本 (Kumamoto) begins with the same character 熊 as "bear". Kumamon is a mascot created to promote this prefecture, and is not directly connected to the animal itself — only to the kanji in the name.
- Why does the sound kuma become guma in 子熊?
- This is voicing (rendaku) — a common phenomenon in Japanese: in the second part of a compound, a voiceless sound often becomes voiced. Thus kuma becomes guma in the words 子熊 and ツキノワグマ.
- What bears live in Japan?
- Two species: the brown ヒグマ — only on Hokkaido, and the Asian black ツキノワグマ — on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. On Hokkaido, an unexpected encounter with a ヒグマ is not rare even on mountain trails.
- What is 熊手 and what does it have to do with bears?
- 熊手 (kumade) is a decorative rake bought at autumn fairs as a charm for luck and money. The word has nothing to do with the bear: "bear's paw" here is simply an image that the rake's teeth resemble.
Sources
Updated: 2026-09-09