How to Write 犾 (yín) — Meaning “the character 'yín' (an ancient word for dog)”

Imagine a dog barking "yín yín" — the left side 犭 looks like a dog on its hind legs, and the right side 犬 looks like a dog standing. Remember that two dogs make the sound "yín yín" to connect the shape to the pronunciation and meaning.

Write the left radical 犭 first with three strokes: left-falling, curved hook, and another left-falling. Then add the right part 犬 with four strokes: horizontal, left-falling, right-falling, and a dot. Keep the left part narrow and the right part wider; a common mistake is making the dot on 犬 too large or forgetting it.

犾 has the complete character 犬 (dog) on the right, while 犯 has a bent hook (㇂) with a dot, and 犰 has the character 九 (nine) on the right. Their meanings are also different: 犾 means "dog" (ancient), 犯 means "to violate," and 犰 refers to a mythical animal.

犾 is extremely rare and not part of the HSK vocabulary. It appears mainly in classical texts or dictionaries, and the reduplicated form 犾犾 imitates the sound of dogs barking. Modern Chinese uses 狗 for "dog," so you will almost never encounter 犾 in daily life.

Common words containing 犾 include: 犾犾 (yín yín) — Yin-yin (the sound of dogs barking).; 犾字 (yín zì) — the character 'yín'; 犾部 (yín bù) — The '犾' radical section..