獾

huān
noun #17,237

Measure Word

一只獾 zhī

Meanings

  1. 1 badger

Examples

HSK 4
獾是一种夜行性动物。
Huān shì yī zhǒng yèxíngxìng dòngwù.
Badgers are nocturnal animals.
HSK 7-9
Lièrén zài shān shàng fāxiàn le huān de dòngxué.
The hunter found a badger's burrow in the mountains.

Tips

memory
獾 has the 犭 (animal) radical plus 雚 (a phonetic component). Think: the animal (犭) that goes 'huān!'

Components

radical
犭 quǎn
dog; beast (radical form of 犬)
犭 is the beast radical on the left - a stylised side-view of a four-legged animal. It marks 獾 as a wild mammal: badgers join 狼 wolf, 狐 fox, 猫 cat, 狮 lion, 猿 ape. Every furry creature in modern Chinese carries this radical.
phonetic
雚 guàn
heron; reed-bird
雚 supplies the sound - guàn drifting to huān, a real shift through the g/h alternation also seen in 河/可. The picture of a bird (隹) with two staring eyes (吅) above contributes no semantic load. Same phonetic family: 观 observe, 欢 happy, 罐 jar, 鹳 stork.

Stroke Order

獾 huān