How to Write 犷 (guǎng) — Meaning “wild; unrefined; rugged”

Imagine a wild dog (犭) running across a wide, open field (广) — it looks rough and untamed. This picture connects the dog radical with the broad space to remind you of the character's meaning: wild and unrefined. The pronunciation guǎng also sounds like "gong" but you can think of the dog chasing a gong in a field.

Write the radical 犭 first with three strokes: left-falling, hook, then left-falling again. Next write 广: dot, horizontal, left-falling — make sure the horizontal extends a little to the right. A common mistake is putting the dot of 广 too low or writing the hook of 犭 too straight; keep 犭 narrow and 广 slightly wider for balance.

犯 (fàn) has 卩 (a kneeling person) instead of 广, meaning to offend or commit a crime, while 犷 uses 广 for a wild, rough meaning. 犰 (qiú) has 九 (nine) and is a rare character for a mythical beast. Visually, 犷 has a wider right side (广) while 犯 has a smaller right part (卩), and 犰 has 九 with a tail stroke.

犷 is rarely used alone; it appears mostly in compound words like 粗犷 (cū guǎng), which describes a bold, rugged personality or a rough landscape. It might be used in literature to describe a fierce or unpolished character. In cultural notes, 粗犷 is often linked to the straightforward, hearty spirit of northern China.

Common words containing 犷 include: 粗犷 (cū guǎng) — rough; rugged; bold; 犷悍 (guǎng hàn) — fierce and unruly; wild; 犷野 (guǎng yě) — wild; rugged.