くま

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spellings
隈 曲 阿

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) くま [kùmáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ma̠]

Noun

くま • (kuma) 

1. 隈, 曲, 阿: corner, nook, recess
2. 隈, 曲, 阿: shade, shadow, dark area
3. 隈, 曲, 阿: dark circles under one's eyes. often clarified as 目の下のくま.
4. 隈: (abbreviation) kumadori

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of くま – see the following entry.

【熊】4 [noun] [from 712] a bear (large mammal of family Ursidae) [noun] [from 1701] (slang) hairiness in general; (more specifically) a bear, an otter (a hairy man, especially one who is gay) [noun] [???] (theater) standing room only audience members in the pit (from the way the standing section would often have a metal railing or fence separating it, resembling a bear cage) [prefix] [from 712] prefixed to other nouns for animals or plants to indicate large size or great strength, relative to other varieties Alternative spelling クマ

(This term, くま (kuma), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as くま, see Category:Japanese kanji read as くま.

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of くま – see the following entry.

【久間】 [proper noun] a surname

(This term, くま (kuma), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as くま, see Category:Japanese kanji read as くま.

Okinawan

Etymology 1

Noun

くま (kuma) 

1. 熊: bear

Etymology 2

First attested as 고마 (/⁠ko.ma⁠/) (Haytong Ceykwukki, 1501).

く (ku, “this”, pronoun) +‎ まー (maa, where)

Pronoun

くま (kuma) 

1. (deictically) here; this place, area, or part (near the speaker)