I can't translate 天吼

Question

Context: Mecha anime soundtrack.

I know that 天 is akin to "heavenly," but I've never seen 吼 before, and I can't find a translation -- or even another use in Japanese -- online at all. In traditional Chinese it means "roar," and all-in-all that makes some contextual sense, but I'm not comfortable just mashing the two together like that. Is this actually a Chinese title in the middle of a Japanese soundtrack, or is this a kanji I need to be educated on?

Answer 1

吼 means something along the lines of cry or roar. So think of it as a noise like 鳴【なる】.

• 吼【ほ】える = to bark, to howl
• 咆吼【ほうこう】= a howl, cry (alternative to 咆哮)
• 獅子吼【ししく】 = lion’s roar
• 帆猿【ほえざる】 = Howler Monkey
• 吼【ほ】え声【ごえ】= a bark, a howl

So I guess it’s a term that’s made up for an anime or game. You said it was used in a song? It sometimes happens they coin new words in those (especially in anime and game related music). For the pronunciation you’d have to listen to the song though. If I had to make a guess, it would be てんこう.

The meaning, however, is straightforward: heavenly roar.

edited: provided more examples.