犸 (mǎ): (in 猛犸) mammoth

Meanings

猛犸是一种巨大的史前动物。

Měngmǎ shì yì zhǒng jùdà de shǐqián dòngwù.

The mammoth was a huge prehistoric animal.

科学家在冻土里发现了一头冰冻的猛犸。

Kēxuéjiā zài dòngtǔ lǐ fāxiàn le yì tóu bīngdòng de měngmǎ.

Scientists found a frozen mammoth in the permafrost.

usage

犸 is a bound character used only in 猛犸 (mammoth), also said as 猛犸象. It never appears alone.

radical

犭 quǎn

dog; animal radical

The side-form animal radical, marking this as a beast. It is the standard signal for naming a creature, here a giant extinct one.

phonetic

马 mǎ

horse

Provides the sound, read 马 and unchanged here. It is purely the phonetic cue; the mammoth is unrelated to horses.

犸 mǎ