How to Write 狐 (hú) — Meaning “Fox”

Imagine a dog (犭) sneaking into a melon patch (瓜) to steal a melon, cleverly like a fox. The visual of a sly dog with a melon helps link the components to the meaning 'fox'.

Write the left radical 犭 first with three strokes: left-falling hook, then a left-falling stroke, and finally a short right-falling stroke. The right part 瓜 has 5 strokes: start with a horizontal left-falling stroke, then a left-falling stroke, a dot, a left-falling stroke, and a right-falling stroke. Keep the right part slightly wider than the left.

狐 (hú) means 'fox', while 犴 (àn or hān) refers to a type of wild dog or jail, and 状 (zhuàng) means 'shape' or 'condition'. Visually, 狐 has the melon component 瓜 on the right, 犴 has 干 (dry), and 状 has 丬 (a wood piece). Their meanings and pronunciations are completely different.

狐 appears in common words like 狐狸 (fox) and 狐疑 (suspicious). In Chinese culture, foxes are often seen as clever, mysterious, or even supernatural creatures, appearing in folklore as fox spirits (狐狸精) that can shape-shift, usually into beautiful women.

Common words containing 狐 include: 狐狸 (hú lí) — Fox; 狐疑 (hú yí) — Suspicious; skeptical; 狐臭 (hú chòu) — Body odor (underarm odor).