How to Write 猴 (hóu) — Meaning “monkey”

Imagine a monkey wearing a crown like a marquis (侯), acting like a noble animal. The radical 犭 on the left reminds you it's an animal, and the right side 侯 sounds like "how" but is written with a person radical (亻) and a small enclosure. This picture of a "royal monkey" helps lock in the shape.

Pay attention to the right side 侯: it starts with the person radical 亻, then a horizontal stroke, and inside there is a small mouth-like component (矢 missing its top). Common mistakes include making the right side too wide or forgetting the short vertical line inside. The radical 犭 is three strokes: left-falling, curved hook, left-falling.

All three use the animal radical 犭, but the right sides are different. 猴 has 侯 (marquis), 狳 has 余 (yú, meaning "surplus"), and 狴 has 畢 (bì, meaning "to finish"). In everyday Chinese, 猴 is very common for "monkey," while 狳 and 狴 are rare words for specific animals or mythical creatures.

猴 is used for the animal monkey and in the zodiac term 猴年 (Year of the Monkey). It also appears in 耍猴, which can mean a monkey show or, figuratively, to make fun of someone by treating them like a trained monkey. Culturally, monkeys are linked to cleverness and mischief, especially the famous Monkey King Sun Wukong from Chinese folklore.

Common words containing 猴 include: 猴子 (hóu zi) — monkey; 猴年 (hóu nián) — Year of the Monkey; 耍猴 (shuǎ hóu) — Monkey show / To make fun of someone.