猫

māo

cat (CL:隻|只[zhi1])

(dialect) to hide oneself; (loanword) (coll.) modem

animal (犭) + sound of its cry (苗) = cat

The dog radical marks it as an animal, which is all the semantic work being done here. 苗 contributes the sound māo, echoing the cat's own cry.

犭+苗→猫
犭DogSemantic
苗SeedlingPhonetic

这只猫很喜欢睡觉。

zhè zhī māo hěn xǐ huān shuì jiào。

This cat really likes to sleep.

她养了一只白色的猫。

tā yǎng le yī zhī bái sè de māo。

She raised a white cat.

Words with 猫

加菲猫

jiā fēi māo

(coll.) flat-faced Persian-type cat (esp. an exotic shorthair)

波斯猫

bō sī māo

Persian (cat)

灵猫

líng māo

civet (arboreal cat)

猫王

māo wáng

transliterated as 埃爾維斯·普雷斯利|埃尔维斯·普雷斯利[Ai1 er3 wei2 si1 · Pu3 lei2 si1 li4]

卧龙大熊猫保护区

wò lóng dà xióng māo bǎo hù qū

Wolong Giant Panda Nature Reserve in Wenchuan county, northwest Sichuan

过猫

guò māo

(Tw) edible fern fronds (fiddleheads), specifically Diplazium esculentum

郎猫

láng māo

(coll.) tomcat

野生猫

yě shēng māo

wild cat

野猫

yě māo

wildcat

阿猫阿狗

ā māo ā gǒu

(idiom) (coll.) any Tom, Dick or Harry; just about anyone (used dismissively)

雄猫

xióng māo

male cat, usually 公貓|公猫[gong1 mao1]

灵猫类

líng māo lèi

a civet (arboreal cat)

More characters with 犭

狷狯狮狻狲狺狱