口裂け女

Japanese

Kanji in this term
口	裂	女
くち Grade: 1	さ Grade: S	おんな Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Etymology

Compound of 口 (kuchi, “mouth”) +‎ 裂け (sake, 連用形 (ren’yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 裂ける (sakeru, “to tear, to split, to rip open”)) +‎ 女 (onna, “woman”), literally “slit-mouthed woman”.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) くちさけおんな [kùchísáké óꜜǹnà] (Nakadaka – [5])
• IPA^(key): [kɯ̟̊t͡ɕisa̠ke̞ õ̞nːa̠]

Noun

口(くち)裂(さ)け女(おんな) • (kuchisake onna) 

1. (folklore) a yokai resembling a woman with a mouth that is slit from ear to ear