How to Write 貉 (háo/hé) — Meaning “raccoon dog”

Imagine a raccoon dog saying "Howl" (sounds like háo) as it stands next to a sign that says "各" (each). So you can think: Each raccoon dog howls. The left animal radical plus the sound hint can help you recall it.

Pay special attention to the left radical 豸: write the top left stroke first, then the two short dots, and finally the lower hooked stroke. The right side 各 is written with the top, then the folded strokes, then the mouth box. A common mistake is making the left side too wide or mixing up the dots.

貉 (háo) has the right part 各, while 貂 (diāo) has 召 on the right, and 貅 (xiū) has 休. The meanings are different: 貉 is a raccoon dog, 貂 is a mink or sable, and 貅 is a mythical beast. Visually, look at the right side to see which character it is.

貉 is not very common in daily speech, but it appears in the word 貉子 (raccoon dog) and 貉绒 (raccoon dog fur). It is most famous in the idiom 一丘之貉, which means "birds of a feather" and is used to describe people of the same bad kind.

Common words containing 貉 include: 貉子 (háo zi) — raccoon dog; 貉绒 (háo róng) — raccoon dog fur; 一丘之貉 (yī qiū zhī hé) — birds of a feather; jackals from the same lair.