猊 (ní): (in 狻猊) a lion; a lion-shaped f…

Meanings

猊炉里升起淡淡的香烟。

Nílú lǐ shēng qǐ dàndàn de xiāngyān.

Faint incense rose from the lion-shaped censer.

佛教里佛的座位叫猊座。

Fójiào lǐ fó de zuòwèi jiào nízuò.

In Buddhism the seat of the Buddha is called the lion throne.

culture

猊 pairs with 狻 in 狻猊 (lion). It shows up in lion-shaped objects: 猊炉 ('lion incense burner') and the Buddhist 猊座 ('lion throne', the Buddha's seat).

radical

犭 quǎn

dog; beast

犭 is the beast radical, the side form of 犬. It marks 猊 as an animal, the lion in 狻猊.

phonetic

兒 ní

phonetic element

The right side is a form of 兒, supplying the sound ní. The same phonetic gives 倪 and 霓, a family of ní-sound characters.

猊 ní