How to Write 猲 (xiē) — Meaning “short-haired dog (archaic)”

Imagine a short-haired dog (犭) that barks 'HEH' (sounding like 曷, hé) repeatedly. The character 猲 is also used for the barking sound 猲猲, so picture a dog going 'Heh heh' while shaking its short fur.

The radical 犭 has three strokes: a left-falling stroke, a curved hook, and another left-falling stroke. When writing the right side 曷, keep the many horizontal strokes parallel and evenly spaced—be careful not to mix it up with the similar-looking 曷 in other characters.

All share the dog radical 犭, but 狳 (yú) refers to a pangolin-like animal and has 余 on the right, while 狴 (bì) is a mythical tiger-like beast with 卑 on the right. In contrast, 猲 has 曷 on the right and specifically meant an ancient short-haired dog or a barking sound.

猲 is very rare in modern Chinese and considered archaic. It appears mostly in classical texts or set phrases like 猲狙 (a mythical wolf-like beast) and 恐猲 (to threaten). You might encounter it when reading ancient literature or mythology, but it is not used in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 猲 include: 猲猲 (xiē xiē) — the sound of a dog barking; 猲狙 (xiē jū) — a mythical wolf-like beast; 恐猲 (kǒng xiē) — To threaten; to intimidate.