鹿 (lù) · deer

Measure Word

一只鹿 zhī

Meanings

1 deer

Characters

鹿

lù

deer

Examples

HSK 2

那只鹿跑得很快。

Nà zhī lù pǎo de hěn kuài.

That deer runs very fast.

HSK 4

森林里有很多鹿。

Sēnlín lǐ yǒu hěnduō lù.

There are many deer in the forest.

Tips

culture

鹿 symbolizes longevity and prosperity in Chinese culture. It is homophonous with 禄 (official salary/fortune), making it a common motif in traditional art.

Components

pictograph

鹿 lù

deer

Self-component. 鹿 is itself Kangxi radical 198. Oracle-bone forms unmistakably draw a stag in profile: branching antlers up top, an arched back, and the four legs splayed below as 比. The deer's strong cultural weight - symbol of longevity (鹿 puns with 禄 'official salary') and a frequent companion of 寿星 - keeps this pictograph alive in idioms like 鹿死谁手 and 指鹿为马.

Radical

Deer Kangxi #198

Pictographic radical with antlers and four legs visible in the original graph. Indexes deer-family species and a handful of cultural compounds: 麋 (elk), 麒 (qilin male), 麟 (qilin female), 麝 (musk deer), 麓 (foothill, where deer roam). Productivity is small but the indexed characters carry strong literary and zoological weight.