犬 (quǎn) · dog, canine

Measure Word

一条犬 tiáo

Meanings

1 dog
2 canine

Characters

犬

quǎn

dog

Examples

HSK 5

犬类动物种类很多。

Quǎn lèi dòngwù zhǒnglèi hěn duō.

There are many kinds of canine animals.

HSK 7-9

警犬在机场巡逻。

Jǐngquǎn zài jīchǎng xúnluó.

Police dogs patrol the airport.

Tips

usage

犬 is the formal/literary word for dog. In everyday speech, 狗 is used instead. 犬 appears in compounds like 警犬 (police dog), 导盲犬 (guide dog).

memory

犬 is a pictograph of a dog. The radical 犭 (dog radical) in many characters is a simplified form of 犬.

Components

pictograph

犬 quǎn

dog

A pictograph of a dog viewed from the side, standing on its hind legs - essentially 大 'big' with an extra dot for the dog's curled tail or pricked ear. As a left-side radical it contracts to 犭 'dog left' and powers names of four-legged animals: 狗, 猫, 狼, 猪, 猴, 狮.

Radical

Dog Kangxi #94

Highly productive, flagging characters about dogs, predators, and by extension many wild four-legged animals. Almost always appears as the left-side variant 犭 (狗 dog, 猫 cat, 狼 wolf, 猪 pig, 猴 monkey, 狮 lion). The full form 犬 is reserved for formal compounds like 警犬.

Forms

犬 quǎn

Default 5 characters

犭 fǎnquǎnpáng

Left 49 characters