猩 (xīng): orangutan; ape (in 猩猩)

Meanings

猩猩是非常聪明的动物。

Xīngxing shì fēicháng cōngming de dòngwù.

Orangutans are very intelligent animals.

黑猩猩生活在非洲的雨林里。

Hēixīngxing shēnghuó zài Fēizhōu de yǔlín lǐ.

Chimpanzees live in the African rainforest.

usage

猩 almost always doubles up as 猩猩 (orangutan / great ape). Add a color word for specific apes: 黑猩猩 (chimpanzee), 大猩猩 (gorilla).

radical

犭 quǎn

animal; beast (as a left radical)

犭 is the dog radical 犬 in its left-side form, used broadly for animals and beasts; it marks 猩 as a kind of animal.

phonetic

星 xīng

star

星 (star) supplies the sound xīng exactly and contributes no meaning here, working as the phonetic part.

猩 xīng