猪 (zhū): pig; hog

Measure Word

一头猪 tóu

Meanings

1 pig; hog

Characters

猪

zhū

pig

Contains the animal radical 犭, identifying it as an animal. The pig is the 12th zodiac animal.

Examples

农场里有很多猪。

Nóngchǎng lǐ yǒu hěnduō zhū.

There are many pigs on the farm.

猪肉是中国最常见的肉。

Zhūròu shì Zhōngguó zuì chángjiàn de ròu.

Pork is the most common meat in China.

他懒得像头猪。

Tā lǎnde xiàng tóu zhū.

He's as lazy as a pig.

Tips

culture

The pig is the 12th animal of the Chinese zodiac. People born in the Year of the Pig are considered kind and generous.

Components

radical

犭 quǎn

dog; animal (radical form)

Left side-form of 犬 dog, the indexing radical. Despite being a "dog" radical, in compound chars it means animal more broadly — used for most four-legged beasts: 狗 (dog), 猫 (cat), 狮 (lion), 狐 (fox), 猴 (monkey). Marks 猪 simply as a beast, with the right side specifying which one.

phonetic

者 zhě

one who; -er

Right phonetic 者 — supplies the sound (zhě → zhū, with vowel shift; same phonetic series as 都 / 诸 / 著 shows the sound family is wide). Replaces the older traditional 豬 phonetic 者; the simplified 1956 form keeps the same phonetic but pairs it with the side-radical form of 犬 instead of full 豕 "pig."