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

HSK 3

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.

HSK 7-9

农场里有很多猪。

Nóngchǎng lǐ yǒu hěnduō zhū.

There are many pigs on the farm.

HSK 7-9

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."