Monkey — and calling a person one is an insult here too.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
Reads as either the zodiac animal or a mild insult, with little in between. The playful-trickster reading English speakers might expect isn't really there.

Meaning

Literally: monkey
Actually: A monkey. 猿真似 ('monkey imitation') means mindless copying, and calling someone a 猿 means they're crude or stupid.

Scores

Naturalness●●●●●

Correct word.

Coolness●●●●●

Decent character with the beast radical. The connotations are the problem.

Watch out

mediumCalling a person 猿 is an insult about intelligence, and has been used as a racial slur. Worn on a person it can read badly.

On skin

猿

Orientation: either

Brush.