How do you say "sloth" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "sloth" is ナマケモノ (namakemono). It is a noun.

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of sloth from Noun Town

Pronunciation

ナマケモノ is written in katakana. Romanised as namakemono, it sounds roughly like "nah-mah-keh-moh-noh" to an English ear.

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Questions about ナマケモノ

How do you pronounce ナマケモノ?

ナマケモノ is romanised as namakemono. Say it roughly like "nah-mah-keh-moh-noh" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is ナマケモノ formal or casual?

ナマケモノ is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is ナマケモノ written in Japanese?

ナマケモノ is written using katakana. Katakana is typically used for words of foreign origin or to give emphasis.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.