1A monkey or ape; any non-human primate. In Japan often refers specifically to the Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata). Frequently written as サル in zoological or journalistic contexts.
動物園で猿が木の枝を渡るのを子どもが夢中で見ていた。
The children were captivated, watching the monkeys swing across the tree branches at the zoo.
長野の温泉に入る猿の写真は、海外でも有名だ。
Photos of monkeys bathing in Nagano's hot springs are famous even overseas.
山道で猿の群れに出くわしたので、急いで車に戻った。
I ran into a troop of monkeys on the mountain path, so I hurried back to the car.
ニホンザルは寒さに強く、雪が積もる地域でも平気で暮らしている。
Japanese macaques are tolerant of cold and live comfortably even in snowy regions.
畑の野菜が猿に荒らされてしまい、農家は頭を抱えている。
Farmers are at their wits' end because monkeys have raided their vegetable fields.
2A derogatory slang term for a sly, cunning person; evokes the idea of shallow, petty cleverness (cf. 猿知恵).
あいつは上司の前でだけいい顔をする猿だ。
He's a sly one who only puts on a good face in front of the boss.
そんな猿のような浅知恵では、すぐに見透かされるよ。
With such shallow, monkey-like cunning, you'll be seen through right away.
3A strong derogatory term used to call someone an idiot or a hick. Carries discriminatory overtones and is generally avoided in modern usage.
そんなことも分からないのか、この猿が。
You don't even get that? You idiot.
都会人が地方出身者を猿呼ばわりするのは時代錯誤だ。
It's anachronistic for city people to label those from rural areas as hicks.
4A sliding wooden bolt used on the inside to secure doors, shoji, or storm shutters. An old fixture term seen in traditional Japanese houses.
雨戸を閉めたら、忘れずに猿をかけておいてください。
After closing the storm shutters, don't forget to slide the bolt (saru) in place.
古い民家の戸には今でも木製の猿が残っていることがある。
Old folk houses sometimes still have the wooden bolt (saru) on their doors.
5A clasp attached to a jizaikagi (adjustable pot hook) over an irori hearth, used to raise or lower a hanging pot to control the heat.
囲炉裏の自在鉤に付いた猿を動かして、鍋の高さを調節した。
I moved the saru on the hearth's adjustable pot hook to change the pot's height.
6(Archaic) An old slang term for a bathhouse prostitute (yuna) in the Edo period. Not used in modern Japanese; found only in historical sources.
江戸の風俗を扱った随筆には、湯女を「猿」と呼んだ記述が見られる。
Essays on Edo-era customs record that bathhouse women were sometimes called 'saru'.