犬 (quǎn): (literary) dog, Kangxi radical 94
犬 (quǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “(literary) dog.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 大 (structural) and 丶 (structural). It ranks #2524 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 犬 a dog turned to the side. Its radical form 犭 (dog) appears in many related characters such as 狗 (gǒu, dog), 猫 (māo, cat), 状 (zhuàng, (bound form) form).
Definitions
- (literary) dog
- Kangxi radical 94
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA dog turned to the side
Decomposition: ⿻大丶 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 犬 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 猎犬noun | liè quǎn | hound |
| 狂犬病noun | kuáng quǎn bìng | rabies |
| 警犬noun | jǐng quǎn | police dog |
| 牧羊犬noun | mù yáng quǎn | sheepdog |
| 犬齿noun | quǎn chǐ | canine tooth |
| 爱犬noun | ài quǎn | beloved pet dog |
| 犬子noun | quǎn zǐ | (literary) (humble) my son |
| 犬牙noun | quǎn yá | canine tooth |
| 军犬 | jūn quǎn | military dog |
| 犬马之劳phrase | quǎn mǎ zhī láo | lit. the service of a dog or a horse (idiom) |
| 丧家之犬phrase | sàng jiā zhī quǎn | (lit.) stray dog (idiom) |
| 声色犬马phrase | shēng sè quǎn mǎ | (lit.) music, women, dogs and horses (traditional aristocratic amusements, with dogs and horses referring to activiti... |
| 鸡犬升天phrase | jī quǎn shēng tiān | (lit.) (when a person attains enlightenment and immortality), even his chickens and dogs will ascend to heaven with h... |
| 牧犬 | mù quǎn | shepherd dog |
| 鹰犬noun | yīng quǎn | hawks and hounds |
犬 appears in 85 compound words: 18 as the first character, 65 as the last, and 18 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 犬 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
(lit.) not even chickens and dogs are spared (idiom); (fig.) mass slaughter
When a man gets to the top, all his friends and relations get there with him. / to ride on somebody else's success
(lit.) not even chickens and dogs are spared (idiom); (fig.) mass slaughter
When a man gets to the top, all his friends and relations get there with him. / to ride on somebody else's success
Showing 7 of 8 idioms containing 犬.
Example Sentences
犬字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
quǎn zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character for "dog" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
盘中速报 - 柴犬币大跌8.73%,报0.000006美元
pán zhōng sù bào chái quǎn bì dà diē 8 . 7 3 , bào 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 6 měi yuán
Intraday Express - Shiba Inu slumped 8.73% to $0.000006
智能门钟变“寻犬侦探” 大品牌新功能让邻居镜头组搜救网(...
zhì néng mén zhōng biàn xún quǎn zhēn tàn dà pǐn pái xīn gōng néng ràng lín jū jìng tóu zǔ sōu jiù wǎng ( . . .
Smart doorbell turns into a "dog detective" The new feature of big brands allows the neighborhood lens group search and rescue network (...
科大生亲历爱犬离世 研宠物健康App 目标打造“宠物版...
kē dà shēng qīn lì ài quǎn lí shì yán chǒng wù jiàn kāng A p p mù biāo dǎ zào chǒng wù bǎn . . .
HKUST students experienced the death of their beloved dog and researched the pet health app with the goal of creating a "pet version...
上水“怪兽仓”两幼犬被困笼内 一狗断尾惹乌蝇 区议员联络仓主...
shàng shuǐ guài shòu cāng liǎng yòu quǎn bèi kùn lóng nèi yī gǒu duàn wěi rě wū yíng qū yì yuán lián lào cāng zhǔ . . .
Two puppies in the "monster warehouse" in Sheung Shui were trapped in a cage, and a dog broke its tail and provoked flies.
忠犬八公的雕像伫立在涩谷站前。
Zhōng quǎn Bāgōng de diāoxiàng zhùlì zài Sègǔ zhàn qián.
The statue of Hachiko, the faithful dog, stands in front of Shibuya Station.
汤姆有一只导盲犬，名叫曲奇。
Tāngmǔ yǒu yī zhī dǎomángquǎn, míngjiào qǔqí.
Tom has a guide dog named Cookie.
你认为你是什么野兽？猎犬还是老鼠？
Nǐ rènwéi nǐ shì shénme yěshòu? lièquǎn háishi lǎoshǔ?
What beast dost thou think thou art? Art thou a hound or a rat?
她目睹爱犬在意外中离世，不禁泪如泉涌。
Tā mùdǔ àiquǎn zàiyì wài zhōng líshì, bù jìn lèi rú quányǒng.
She shed plentiful tears when her beloved dog was killed in an accident.
马、狮、犬、羊：这些是动物。
Mǎ, shī, quǎn, yáng: zhèxiē shì dòngwù.
Horse, lion, dog, goat: these are animals.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 犬 (quǎn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 犬 have?
What is the radical of 犬?
What are the components of 犬?
What are common words containing 犬?
What characters sound the same as 犬 (quǎn)?
Is 犬 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 犬 with real-time feedback
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