liè
verb #5,419

Meanings

  1. 1 to hunt
  2. 2 hunting

Examples

HSK 3
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
is mostly used in compounds: 打猎 (to hunt), 猎人 (hunter), 猎物 (prey), 猎犬 (hunting dog), 猎头 (headhunter).

Components

radical
quǎn
dog (radical form of 犬)
Left dog radical (side-form of ), anchors 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: (dog), (wolf), (cat), (lion).
phonetic
former times (here phonetic)
Right supplies a residual phonetic (xī → liè through historical drift in this old phonetic series). The traditional form was with a fuller phonetic ; the simplified substitutes as a graphic shortcut. The former-times meaning of plays no role here. Same simplified phonetic in (borrow), (wrong), (arrange).

Stroke Order

liè