猫 (māo): cat, (dialect) to hide oneself, (loanword) (coll.) modem
猫 (māo) is a Chinese character meaning “cat.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 犭 (semantic) and 苗 (phonetic). It ranks #1660 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 猫 animal. Its radical form 犭 (dog) appears in many related characters such as 狗 (gǒu, dog), 状 (zhuàng, (bound form) form), 猪 (zhū, hog).
Definitions
- cat
- (dialect) to hide oneself
- (loanword) (coll.) modem
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 猫 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 猫
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 熊猫noun | xióng māo | panda |
| 猫头鹰noun | māo tóu yīng | owl |
| 野猫noun | yě māo | wildcat |
| 猫腻 | māo nì | (coll.) something fishy |
| 山猫noun | shān māo | lynx |
| 夜猫子noun | yè māo zi | owl |
| 猫眼noun | māo yǎn | peephole (in a door) |
| 小熊猫noun | xiǎo xióng māo | lesser panda (Ailurus fulgens) |
| 波斯猫noun | bō sī māo | Persian (cat) |
| 狸猫noun | lí māo | leopard cat |
| 灵猫noun | líng māo | civet (arboreal cat) |
| 猫熊noun | māo xióng | see 熊貓|熊猫 |
| 猫腰 | máo yāo | to bend over |
| 大山猫 | dà shān māo | Lynx rufus |
| 猫眼儿 | māo yǎn r | erhua variant of 貓眼|猫眼 |
猫 appears in 92 compound words: 39 as the first character, 47 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 猫 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
Tom, Dick and Harry; group of people that are ignorant, stupid or unskilled; rabble, a mob
the cat weeps for the dead mouse (idiom); hypocritical pretence of condolence; crocodile tears
the cat weeps for the dead mouse (idiom); hypocritical pretence of condolence; crocodile tears
Example Sentences
这只猫喜欢在窗台上晒太阳，一睡就是一下午。
Zhè zhī māo xǐhuan zài chuāngtái shàng shài tàiyáng, yī shuì jiùshì yī xiàwǔ.
This cat likes to bask in the sun on the windowsill, sleeping for a whole afternoon.
猫咪“小五郎”前肢伤口深难痊愈 专业兽医移...
māo 咪 xiǎo wǔ láng qián zhī shāng kǒu shēn nán 痊 yù zhuān yè shòu yī yí . . .
The cat "Xiaogoro" forelimb wound is difficult to heal, and the professional veterinarian moved...
猫眼专业版数据:2026年春节档票房破57...
māo yǎn zhuān yè bǎn shǔ jù : 2 0 2 6 nián chūn jié dàng piào fáng pò 5 7 . . .
Maoyan Professional Edition data: The box office of the 2026 Spring Festival stall will exceed 57...
日本“猫经济”直逼3兆日圆 几乎追平大阪世博
rì běn māo jīng jì zhí bī 3 zhào rì yuán jī hū zhuī píng dà 阪 shì bó
Japan's "cat economy" is approaching 3 trillion yen, almost tying the Osaka World Expo
“春晚同款”熊猫机器人拍卖成交,成交价57527元
chūn wǎn tóng kuǎn xióng māo jī qì rén pāi mài chéng jiāo , chéng jiāo jiè yuán
"Panda Robot Sold at Auction for $57,527
90后男生春节上门喂猫 前后20多天 爆赚16万 ..
hòu nán shēng chūn jié shǎng mén wéi māo qián hòu duō tiān bào zhuàn mò . .
The 90-year-old boy door-to-door feeding cats in the Spring Festival before and after more than 20 days to earn 160,000 ...
猫在椅子上面，还是在椅子下面呢？
Māo zài yǐzi shàngmiàn, háishi zài yǐzi xiàmiàn ne?
Is the cat on the chair or under the chair?
这房子里面有多少只猫？
Zhè fángzi lǐ miàn yǒu duōshao zhī māo?
How many cats are there in this house?
你喜欢黑色的猫吗？
Nǐ xǐhuan hēisè de māo ma?
Do you like black cats?
有没有人要养可爱的小猫？
Yǒuméiyǒu rén yào yǎng kě'ài de xiǎomāo?
Is there anyone who wants to keep the cute kitten?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 犭 (animal) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 猫 (māo) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 猫 and 描?
How many strokes does 猫 have?
What is the radical of 猫?
What are the components of 猫?
What are common words containing 猫?
What characters sound the same as 猫 (māo)?
Is 猫 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 猫 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.