猴

hóu
noun #5,471

Measure Word

一只猴 zhǐ

Meanings

  1. 1 monkey

Examples

HSK 3
Hóuzi hěn cōngming.
Monkeys are very clever.
HSK 5
Zhège háizi xiàng hóuzi yíyàng tiáopí.
This child is as mischievous as a monkey.
HSK 6
Tā shǔhóu de.
He was born in the Year of the Monkey.

Tips

usage
猴子 is more common in speech than 猴 alone. 猴 appears in compounds and the zodiac. 猴急 = impatient/restless.

Components

radical
犭 quǎn
dog; animal
Animal radical on the left (side-form of 犬, dog) - used broadly for non-canine mammals too. Anchors 猴 in the mammal family alongside 狗 (dog), 猫 (cat), 狼 (wolf), 狐 (fox), 猪 (pig). 犭 became the default 'mammal' radical, which is why monkeys end up here.
phonetic
侯 hóu
marquis (here phonetic)
Right 侯 supplies the sound directly - hóu, no shift. Same phonetic in 候 hòu (wait/season), 喉 hóu (throat). 侯 itself is 亻 + a body, originally a feudal lord in the Zhou nobility. Pure phonetic loan; choosing 侯 gives the humble monkey a comically lordly graphic.

Stroke Order

猴 hóu