How to Write 猬 (wèi) — Meaning “hedgehog”

Imagine a dog (犭) eating something that hurts its stomach (胃) — the spiky hedgehog! The spikes are like the stomach's bumps. This helps remember both the animal radical and the sound from 胃.

Start with the left radical 犭: first a short left-falling stroke, then a long curved stroke down and left, finally a short upward hook. Then write the right side 胃: the field part (田) first, then the moon part (月) below. Common mistake is making the left radical too wide or forgetting the hook at the end of 犭.

猬 means hedgehog and has the phonetic component 胃, while 狳 (yú) refers to an armadillo and uses 余 (yú). 狴 (bì) is a mythical beast and uses 畐 (bì). Visually, the right side changes the meaning entirely, but all share the animal radical 犭.

猬 appears most often in the common word 刺猬 (cì wèi) for hedgehog. It is also used in 猬集 (wèi jí), meaning to swarm, and 刺猬头 (cì wèi tóu) for spiky hairstyles. In Chinese culture, hedgehogs are not especially symbolic, but the character is useful for describing anything bristly or crowded.

Common words containing 猬 include: 刺猬 (cì wèi) — Hedgehog.; 猬集 (wèi jí) — to swarm or gather in large numbers; 刺猬头 (cì wèi tóu) — spiky hair; crew cut.