How to Write 狊 (jú) — Meaning “To stare or look with wide eyes.”

Picture a dog (犭) with two huge round eyes (like 目 and 目) staring at something. The visual of the dog's intense gaze will help you remember the meaning "to stare with wide eyes."

Write the dog radical 犭 first with three strokes, then the right part 臼 with six strokes. Keep the right part slightly taller than the left, and make sure the bottom of 臼 is closed with a horizontal stroke, not open like 白.

狊 has the dog radical 犭 on the left and a right part that looks like stacked eyes (臼), while 状 has the radical 丬 (a half-wood) on the left and 大 on the right, meaning "form" or "shape." 犹 also has 犭 but its right part is 尤, meaning "still" or "like," and it is a common modern character, unlike 狊 which is rare.

狊 is extremely rare in modern Chinese and appears mainly in classical or literary texts describing a fixed, wide-eyed stare. You might encounter it in old poetry or idioms, but it is not used in everyday conversation and is not part of the HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 狊 include: 狊狊 (jú jú) — Staring fixedly.; 狊然 (jú rán) — Staringly or with wide-open eyes.; 狊视 (jú shì) — To stare at..