How to Write 獍 (jìng) — Meaning “A mythical beast said to eat its mother”

Imagine a beast (犭) that is so terrible it would "compete" (竟) to eat its own mother. The sound jìng is like "jing" in "jingle," which can remind you of this shocking, unfilial act. This visual link helps you recall both the meaning and pronunciation.

The left radical 犭 is written first: a short left-falling stroke (撇), then a curved hook (弯钩), and a second left-falling stroke (撇). The right part 竟 starts with a dot and horizontal line, then a square 口, and finally 儿 — be careful not to confuse the bottom 儿 with 几. The overall shape should be balanced, with the left side narrower than the right side.

獍 has 竟 (jìng) on the right, while 猢 has 胡 (hú) and 猥 has 畏 (wèi). Meaning-wise, 獍 is a mythical beast, 猢 means "monkey" (as in 猢狲), and 猥 means "vulgar" or "obscene". Visually, the right parts are completely different: 竟 has a top 亠, middle 口, and bottom 儿; 胡 has 古 and 月; 畏 has a 田-like top and a hook below.

獍 is rarely used alone; it appears in the literary term 枭獍 (xiāo jìng), which refers to a wicked, unfilial person, based on the legend that the owl (枭) eats its father and the jing beast eats its mother. You might encounter it in classical texts or formal criticism of someone's character, but it is not part of everyday vocabulary. The character also appears in names of mythical beasts in mythology.

Common words containing 獍 include: 枭獍 (xiāo jìng) — wicked or unfilial person (from legendary beasts); 獍兽 (jìng shòu) — The Jing beast (mythical creature); 破獍 (pò jìng) — pojing (mythical beast).