鼠(ねずみ)

ねずみ
noun
mouse, rat
1. mouse, rat
A small rodent.
鼠(ねずみ)が出(で)た。
A mouse appeared.
猫(ねこ)が鼠(ねずみ)を追(お)いかけている。
The cat is chasing the mouse.
台所(だいどころ)で鼠(ねずみ)が走(はし)り回(まわ)る音(おと)がした。
I heard the sound of a mouse running around in the kitchen.
古(ふる)い家(いえ)に引(ひ)っ越(こ)したら、天井裏(てんじょううら)で鼠(ねずみ)が走(はし)る音(おと)が聞(き)こえて困(こま)った。
After moving into an old house, I was troubled by the sound of mice running in the ceiling.
昔(むかし)は鼠(ねずみ)が米(こめ)を食(た)べてしまうので、農家(のうか)の人(ひと)たちは猫(ねこ)を飼(か)って鼠(ねずみ)を追(お)い払(はら)っていた。
In the past, mice would eat the rice, so farmers kept cats to chase them away.

鼠(ねずみ) is the general term for mice and rats - small rodents found worldwide.

KANJI:
The kanji 鼠(ねずみ) is complex (13 strokes) and often written in hiragana as ねずみ in everyday use.

TYPES:

  • 家鼠(いえねずみ): house mouse
  • 溝鼠(どぶねずみ): brown rat, sewer rat
  • 野鼠(のねずみ): field mouse
  • ハムスター: hamster (a popular pet)

CHINESE ZODIAC (十二支(じゅうにし)):

  • 子(ね) is the first of the twelve zodiac animals
  • 子年(ねどし): Year of the Rat
  • People born in rat years are said to be clever and resourceful

EXPRESSIONS AND IDIOMS:

  • 窮鼠(きゅうそ)猫(ねこ)を噛(か)む: a cornered rat will bite a cat (desperation leads to unexpected action)
  • 鼠算(ねずみざん): exponential growth (like mouse reproduction)
  • 袋(ふくろ)の鼠(ねずみ): a rat in a bag (trapped with no escape)
  • 鼠(ねずみ)一匹通(とお)さない: not letting even a mouse through (airtight security)

COLOR:
鼠色(ねずみいろ): mouse-gray (a muted gray color popular in traditional Japanese aesthetics)

CULTURE:

  • Mice/rats have mixed symbolism in Japan
  • Associated with 大黒天(だいこくてん) (god of wealth) - mice are his messengers
  • Also seen as pests that damage crops and spread disease

RELATED VOCABULARY:

  • 猫(ねこ): cat (natural predator)
  • 罠(わな): trap
  • 齧歯類(げっしるい): rodent
core
Added 2026.1.9 21:35 · Revised 2026.2.22 10:28
02000/02238_nezumi