How to Write 猵 (biān) — Meaning “otter (archaic)”

Imagine a flat (扁) animal (犭) sliding on ice like an otter — the otter's body is long and flat. You can also think of the phrase 'a flat critter' to recall that 猵 means an otter. This visual of a flat animal helps link the two parts.

Write the left radical 犭 first: three strokes — left-falling, curved hook, left-falling. Then write the right side 扁, which starts with a dot and has a total of 9 strokes. A common mistake is making the curved hook of 犭 too straight or too long; keep it gently curved and balanced with the right side.

The key difference is the right side: 猵 uses 扁 (flat), while 狳 uses 余 (yú) and 狴 uses 毕 (bì). Visually, 猵 has a wide, flat top, whereas 狳 is more vertically balanced. In meaning, 猵 is an archaic word for otter, 狳 means 'armadillo' in modern Chinese, and 狴 refers to a mythical beast.

猵 is now very rare and mostly appears in classical texts or ancient dictionaries, not in everyday Chinese. You might see it in the term 猵狙 (biān jū), a mythical beast from old legends. For language learners, knowing this character helps when reading ancient literature but is not necessary for modern conversation.

Common words containing 猵 include: 猵狙 (biān jū) — a mythical beast; 猵獭 (biān tǎ) — otter; 猵猵 (biān biān) — an animal moving quickly (archaic).