How to Write 狻 (suān) — Meaning “mythical lion-like beast”

Picture the left side 犭 as a lion sitting on the right side 夋, which looks like a throne or base. This reminds you of the mythical Suanni creature often placed on incense burner bases or thrones.

The left radical 犭 must be narrow, with three strokes: a left-falling, an upward hook, and another short left-falling. The right part 夋 starts with a slanted stroke, then two dots, and ends with a left-falling and a horizontal stroke—do not make the left radical too wide.

狻 has the right part 夋, while 狉 has 丕 and 狊 has 丌. 狻 means a mythical lion (Suanni), 狉 is a rare character for a wild animal, and 狊 is an even rarer character meaning something like 'dog running'.

狻 is almost never used alone; it appears only in the word 狻猊 (suān ní), a mythical lion-like creature. You may see it in descriptions of ancient bronze incense burners or Buddhist art, but it is not part of everyday vocabulary or the HSK.

Common words containing 狻 include: 狻猊 (suān ní) — Suanni (a mythical creature resembling a lion); 狻猊座 (suān ní zuò) — Suanni throne / incense burner base; 金狻猊 (jīn suān ní) — Golden Suanni (mythical lion-like creature).