How to Write 猃 (xiǎn) — Meaning “long-snouted dog”

Imagine a dog (犭) with a very long snout shaped like the character 佥, which looks like a nose with two nostrils. This visual helps you connect the dog radical to the idea of an extended nose, matching the meaning of 'long-snouted dog.'

Write the left radical 犭 first with three strokes: left-falling, hook, then upward flick. Then write the right side 佥 in seven strokes, making sure the top part (人) is narrow and the bottom (一 and ㇏) are balanced. A common mistake is misplacing the dot inside 佥 – it should be placed above the horizontal line, not below.

The character 狉 (pī) also uses the dog radical but has a different right side (丕), and it refers to an ancient type of wild dog or beast. In contrast, 狊 (jú) is written with 犬 (dog) on top and 目 (eye) below, meaning 'to gaze at' or 'to stare,' and is unrelated to dogs. Visually, 猃 stands out by its right component 佥, which has a distinctive top 'person' shape and a horizontal line.

Today, 猃 is rarely used in daily conversation and appears mostly in historical texts, especially in the word 猃狁 (Xiǎn yǔn), referring to an ancient nomadic tribe from northern China. It also appears in classical literature or zoological descriptions for a breed of long-snouted dog, but it is not part of the HSK vocabulary. Knowing this character helps in reading older Chinese documents or understanding cultural references to the Xianyun people.

Common words containing 猃 include: 猃狁 (xiǎn yǔn) — Xianyun (an ancient nomadic tribe); 猃犬 (xiǎn quǎn) — a long-snouted dog; 猃种 (xiǎn zhǒng) — Xian breed.