How to Write 獭 (tǎ) — Meaning “Otter”

Imagine a playful otter that looks like a dog (犭) but is very "lazy" (think of 赖 sounding like "lazy") as it floats on its back. This helps you recall the left animal radical and the right part 赖 together. Another way: picture the otter holding a fish while resting, which matches the sound tǎ of "tǎ."

The left radical 犭 must be written narrow and tall, with its third stroke (a hook) pulling inward. The right side 赖 has 13 strokes and starts with 一 (horizontal) at the top, so be careful not to mix it with 獐 or 獍. The overall balance is important: the right part should not be wider than the left radical.

獭 (otter) uses the radical 犭 plus 赖 on the right, while 獐 (river deer) uses 犭 plus 章, and 獍 (a mythical animal) uses 犭 plus 竟. Visually, 赖 has a 束 component near the top, whereas 章 has 立 and 早, and 竟 has 音 and 儿. Their meanings are also completely different: otter, deer, and legendary beast.

獭 appears mostly in zoological terms like 水獭 (river otter) and 海獭 (sea otter), and in 獭皮 meaning "otter fur." It is not part of the HSK vocabulary and is rarely used in daily conversation. Culturally, otters are often seen as cute and clever animals in nature shows and stories.

Common words containing 獭 include: 水獭 (shuǐ tǎ) — Otter; 海獭 (hǎi tǎ) — Sea otter; 獭皮 (tǎ pí) — Otter fur.