犬
contributes the sense of a dog · Kangxi radical 94
contributes the sense of a dog, and by extension animal behavior such as barking, crouching, or lying low
The old graph drew a dog from the side, standing on its legs with its head up and its tail curling above its back. Tipped upright, that picture became the modern 犬: the body and legs flattened into 大, with the short stroke on the upper right left over from the raised tail or ear. Squeezed against the left of a character it slims down to 犭, but as 犬 it usually sits to the right or underneath, as in 吠, where a mouth beside the dog gives "to bark," or 伏, a dog lying low next to a person. Its role in a few common characters like 哭 and 器 is disputed and the original picture there is unclear.
犬 at a glance
- Meaning
- contributes the sense of a dog
- Strokes
- 4
- Characters
- 31
- Role
- Contributes meaning
- Kangxi radical
- 94
Characters with 犬 (22 of 31)
HSK 3 · 2
HSK 6 · 2
Frequently asked questions
What does the component 犬 mean?
犬 means "contributes the sense of a dog". In the characters that contain it, it contributes meaning.
How many Chinese characters contain 犬?
31 characters in this dictionary contain 犬, including ones at HSK 3, HSK 4, HSK 5, HSK 6.
Is 犬 a radical?
Yes — 犬 is Kangxi radical 94, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does 犬 have?
犬 is written in 4 strokes.