How to Write 猕 (mí) — Meaning “Macaque”

Imagine a macaque monkey saying 'Me! Me!' (sounds like 'mi') while reaching for a fuzzy kiwi fruit, which is called 猕猴桃. The fur of the monkey and the fruit both feel a bit like the strokes in the right part 弥 - think of the bow (弓) as its tail and the 'you' (尔) as its face.

Start by writing the left radical 犭 - first two slanting strokes, then a vertical hook. Then write the right part 弥: it has a 弓 (bow) on top and 尔 (you) below. A common mistake is making the 弓 too wide or forgetting the small tick inside it. Keep the whole character balanced, with the left side slightly shorter than the right.

The character 狊 (jú) is very rare and means 'to stare' - it has a different right part (犬 plus 目) and is not used in daily life. The character 狠 (hěn) is common and means 'cruel' or 'very' - its right part is 艮 (gèn), not 弥. Visually, 猕 has a curved 弓 on the right, while 狠 has a straight 艮. Only 猕 refers to a specific monkey.

Today 猕 appears almost only in the words 猕猴 (macaque monkey) and 猕猴桃 (kiwi fruit). Kiwi fruit is called 'macaque peach' because its fuzzy brown skin resembles the fur of a macaque monkey. The fruit is native to China and is also known as 'Chinese gooseberry', but 猕猴桃 is the common name in Chinese.

Common words containing 猕 include: 猕猴桃 (mí hóu táo) — Kiwi fruit; 猕猴 (mí hóu) — Macaque / Rhesus monkey; 小猕猴 (xiǎo mí hóu) — baby macaque.