Meaning
The kanji 狩 (しゅ, か-る, か-り) primarily means 'hunt,' 'hunting,' or 'capture.' It refers to the act of pursuing and catching animals, or more broadly, gathering natural items. You'll find it interesting to see how its components come together to form this vivid image.
The kanji 狩 originates from a semantic-phonetic compound. On the left, the radical 犭 (けものへん) is a variant of 犬 (いぬ), meaning 'dog' or 'beast.' This instantly tells us the kanji relates to animals. The right-hand component, 守 (しゅ, まも-る), usually means 'to protect,' 'to guard,' or 'to observe.' While 守 often acts as a phonetic component, giving the 'シュ' sound, it also adds a semantic layer of 'watching over' or 'waiting for' something. This aligns perfectly with hunting, as a hunter must observe their target carefully before the capture. Thus, the kanji visually blends 'beast' (犭) with 'watching/guarding' (守) to convey the concept of hunting animals.
With 9 strokes, 狩 is a Jōyō kanji. You'll generally encounter it at the JLPT N1 level, reflecting its advanced usage and presence in diverse vocabulary.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
On'yomi readings come from Chinese pronunciations. You'll mostly see them in compound words, where they combine with other kanji to create more specific terms.
- シュ (Shu)
This is the most common On'yomi for 狩, but it's seldom used on its own. You'll find it almost entirely in longer, more formal compounds, especially those related to hunting in a wider, often systematic or legal context.
- 狩猟 (shuryō) — hunting (the act of hunting wild animals for food or sport).
例：狩猟は法で厳しく規制されています。
Rei: Shuryō wa hō de kibishiku kisei sarete imasu.
Hunting is strictly regulated by law.
- 狩猟期 (shuryōki) — hunting season.
例：毎年秋に狩猟期が始まります。
Rei: Mainen aki ni shuryōki ga hajimarimasu.
The hunting season begins every autumn.
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
Kun'yomi readings are native Japanese pronunciations connected to the kanji's meaning. They appear when the kanji stands alone or combines with hiragana (okurigana) to form verbs and nouns.
- か-る (karu)
This is the verb form meaning 'to hunt,' 'to catch,' or 'to gather.' It suggests the active pursuit of something.
- 狩る (karu) — to hunt, to catch, to gather.
例：彼は森で鹿を狩るのが得意です。
Rei: Kare wa mori de shika wo karu no ga tokui desu.
He is skilled at hunting deer in the forest.
- 獲物を狩る (えものをかる) — to hunt prey.
例：ライオンは獲物を狩るために隠れていました。
Rei: Raion wa emono wo karu tame ni kakurete imashita.
The lion was hiding to hunt its prey.
- か-り (kari)
This is the noun form, meaning 'a hunt,' 'a game,' 'a gathering,' or 'an outing.' It often combines with other nouns to describe an activity or excursion, even ones not directly involving animal hunting.
- 狩り (kari) — a hunt, an outing, a gathering.
例：彼らは山へ狩りに出かけました。
Rei: Karera wa yama e kari ni dekakemashita.
They went out for a hunt in the mountains.
- 紅葉狩り (momijigari) — maple leaf viewing (an outing to admire autumn leaves).
例：今週末は家族で紅葉狩りに行きます。
Rei: Konshūmatsu wa kazoku de momijigari ni ikimasu.
This weekend, we are going maple leaf viewing with my family.
- 潮干狩り (shiohigari) — clam digging (an outing to gather clams at low tide).
例：子供たちは潮干狩りを楽しみました。
Rei: Kodomo-tachi wa shiohigari wo tanoshimimashita.
The children enjoyed clam digging.
Common Words & Compounds
The kanji 狩 appears in many words and compounds, all stemming from its core meaning of hunting and related activities. These terms generally fall into categories such as nature, sports, and traditional Japanese outings.
Hunting & Animal-Related Terms:
狩人 (karyūdo / kariudo) — hunter.
例：その狩人は森の奥深くに消えました。
Rei: Sono karyūdo wa mori no okufukaku ni kiemashita.
The hunter disappeared deep into the forest.
- 狩猟犬 (shuryōken) — hunting dog.
例：彼の狩猟犬はとても賢い。
Rei: Kare no shuryōken wa totemo kashikoi.
His hunting dog is very clever.
- 鹿狩り (shikagari) — deer hunting.
例：秋は鹿狩りの季節です。
Rei: Aki wa shikagari no kisetsu desu.
Autumn is deer hunting season.
- 熊狩り (kumagari) — bear hunting.
例：昔は山奥で熊狩りが盛んでした。
Rei: Mukashi wa yamaoku de kumagari ga sakan deshita.
Bear hunting was popular deep in the mountains long ago.
Nature & Outing-Related Terms:
花見の狩り (hanami no kari) — flower viewing picnic (an older term for an outing to view flowers, much like 花見 itself).
例：平安時代には花見の狩りが楽しまれました。
Rei: Heian jidai ni wa hanami no kari ga tanoshimaremashita.
During the Heian period, flower viewing excursions were enjoyed.
- 雪見狩り (yukimigari) — snow viewing excursion (an outing to admire snow scenes).
例：冬になると雪見狩りに出かける人もいます。
Rei: Fuyu ni naru to yukimigari ni dekakeru hito mo imasu.
When winter comes, some people go on snow viewing excursions.
- 蛍狩り (hotarugari) — firefly viewing (an outing to watch fireflies).
例：夏の夜は子供たちと蛍狩りをしました。
Rei: Natsu no yoru wa kodomo-tachi to hotarugari wo shimashita.
On summer nights, I went firefly viewing with the children.
Figurative & Other Uses:
情報狩り (jōhōgari) — gathering information (a figurative use, like 'hunting for information').
例：彼は熱心に情報狩りをしています。
Rei: Kare wa nesshin ni jōhōgari wo shite imasu.
He is diligently gathering information.
- 首狩り族 (kubikarizoku) — headhunting tribe (a historical/anthropological term).
例：歴史の授業で首狩り族について学びました。
Rei: Rekishi no jugyō de kubikarizoku ni tsuite manabimashita.
I learned about headhunting tribes in history class.
- 狩猟民族 (shuryō minzoku) — hunting tribe/people (an ethnological term).
例：昔は多くの民族が狩猟民族でした。
Rei: Mukashi wa ooku no minzoku ga shuryō minzoku deshita.
In ancient times, many peoples were hunter-gatherers.
Example Sentences
週末は山へ狩りに行きました。
Shūmatsu wa yama e kari ni ikimashita.
I went hunting in the mountains on the weekend.
熊を狩るのはとても危険な行為だ。
Kuma wo karu no wa totemo kiken na kōi da.
Hunting bears is a very dangerous act.
紅葉狩りの季節が来ましたね。
Momijigari no kisetsu ga kimashita ne.
The season for maple leaf viewing has come.
私の祖父は昔、狩人でした。
Watashi no sofu wa mukashi, karyūdo deshita.
My grandfather used to be a hunter.
毎年、この時期に潮干狩りに出かけます。
Maitoshi, kono jiki ni shiohigari ni dekakemasu.
Every year, I go clam digging around this time.
彼は野生の動物を狩るのを生業としていた。
Kare wa yasei no dōbutsu wo karu no wo nariwai to shite ita.
He made a living by hunting wild animals.
狩猟は自然との深い繋がりを感じさせる活動です。
Shuryō wa shizen to no fukai tsunagari wo kanjisaseru katsudō desu.
Hunting is an activity that fosters a deep connection with nature.
伝統的な方法で鳥を狩るには経験が必要だ。
Dentōteki na hōhō de tori wo karu ni wa keiken ga hitsuyō da.
Experience is necessary to hunt birds using traditional methods.
動物保護の観点から、狩猟の規制は年々厳しくなっている。
Dōbutsu hogo no kanten kara, shuryō no kisei wa nennen kibishiku natte iru.
From the perspective of animal protection, hunting regulations are becoming stricter year by year.
Memory Tip
To remember 狩, picture its components: on the left, 犭 (けものへん), the 'beast' radical; on the right, 守 (まもる), meaning 'to protect' or 'to watch.' Imagine a hunter (狩) carefully observing (守) a wild beast (犭) in the wilderness before acting. This act of 'watching' is crucial to hunting. The combination of 'watching' and 'beasts' vividly represents the idea of a hunt.