狮 (shī): lion

Measure Word

一头狮 tóu

Meanings

1 lion

Characters

狮

shī

lion

Examples

动物园里有好几头狮子。

Dòngwùyuán lǐ yǒu hǎojǐ tóu shīzi.

There are several lions in the zoo.

石狮子是中国传统的守护雕像。

Shíshī zi shì Zhōngguó chuántǒng de shǒuhù diāoxiàng.

Stone lions are traditional Chinese guardian statues.

狮子是草原之王。

Shīzi shì cǎoyuán zhī wáng.

The lion is the king of the grasslands.

Tips

usage

狮 is rarely used alone — the common word is 狮子 (shīzi). Compounds include 狮子 (lion), 石狮 (stone lion), 狮子座 (Leo, zodiac sign), 舞狮 (lion dance).

culture

Stone lions (石狮子) are placed at the entrance of temples, palaces, and important buildings as guardian figures. The male holds a ball, the female a cub.

Components

radical

犭 quǎn

dog (left-side form)

Dog radical on the left marks 狮 as a four-legged carnivore. Chinese groups big cats and similar predators under the dog radical: 狼 wolf, 猫 cat, 狐 fox, 猪 pig — anything mammalian and beast-like. Lions reached China via Han-dynasty tribute and slotted into this same family.

phonetic

师 shī

teacher; army division

Right side supplies the sound: shī → shī (exact match). 师 is pure phonetic — chosen to transcribe the sound 'shī' from Sanskrit/Iranian word for lion that entered Chinese with Buddhism. The traditional form 獅 used the same phonetic, just unsimplified.