招き猫

Japanese

招き猫 (maneki neko): a beckoning cat with a motorized waving paw.

Kanji in this term
招	猫
まね Grade: 5	ねこ Grade: S
kun'yomi

Etymology

Compound of 招き (maneki, “beckoning, inviting”, continuative or stem of verb to beckon, to invite (maneku)) +‎ 猫 (neko, “cat”).

In Japanese culture, holding one's hand with the palm downwards and waving vertically is a gesture used to beckon someone. This is somewhat similar to an upside-down version of the beckoning gesture used in US culture. The way that cats will sometimes wave a front paw in the air is also similar to this Japanese beckoning gesture, giving rise to the iconic image of the maneki neko. This image is often used to beckon customers into a shop.

See the Wikipedia articles for more detail.

Alternative forms

• 招猫

Noun

招(まね)き猫(ねこ) • (maneki neko) 

1. beckoning cat (figure of a cat with one paw raised)

Descendants

• Chinese: 招財貓／招财猫 (zhāocáimāo)