猎

獵
liè
verb #5,419

Meanings

  1. 1 to hunt
  2. 2 hunting

Examples

HSK 5
Gǔdài rén kào dǎliè wéishēng.
Ancient people lived by hunting.
HSK 6
Zhèlǐ jìnzhǐ lièshā yěshēng dòngwù.
Hunting and killing wild animals is prohibited here.

Tips

usage
猎 is mostly used in compounds: 打猎 (to hunt), 猎人 (hunter), 猎物 (prey), 猎犬 (hunting dog), 猎头 (headhunter).

Components

radical
犭 quǎn
dog (radical form of 犬)
Left dog radical (side-form of 犬), anchors 猎 as an activity done with hunting dogs. The radical pictures a crouching dog poised to give chase. From dog-hunting came the broader senses to hunt and to seek (猎人 hunter, 猎奇 to seek the strange). Same radical family: 狗 (dog), 狼 (wolf), 猫 (cat), 狮 (lion).
phonetic
昔 xī
former times (here phonetic)
Right 昔 supplies a residual phonetic (xī → liè through historical drift in this old phonetic series). The traditional form was 獵 with a fuller phonetic 巤; the simplified 猎 substitutes 昔 as a graphic shortcut. The former-times meaning of 昔 plays no role here. Same simplified phonetic in 借 (borrow), 错 (wrong), 措 (arrange).

Stroke Order

猎 liè