How to Write 狺 (yín) — Meaning “the sound of a dog barking”

Imagine a dog (犭) talking (言) — but instead of words, it produces barks. Picture a dog with a speech bubble that says "yín yín" to connect the sound to the character.

The dog radical 犭 has a unique shape: start with a left-falling hook, then a left-falling stroke, and finally a right-falling stroke. The right part 言 has a dot at the top, followed by horizontal lines; make sure the left side is narrow and the right side is wider to keep the balance.

All three share the dog radical 犭, but their right parts are different: 狺 has 言 (speech), 狉 has 丕 (a different component), and 狊 has 目 (eye). Because of these different right sides, each character has a different pronunciation and meaning, so look carefully at the right side to tell them apart.

This character is rare in daily conversation; most Chinese people use 汪汪 (wāng wāng) for dog barking instead. However, 狺 appears in literary or classical expressions like 狺狺狂吠 (barking furiously), which is sometimes used metaphorically to describe a person's angry or aggressive speech.

Common words containing 狺 include: 狺狺 (yín yín) — barking (onomatopoeia); 狺狺狂吠 (yín yín kuáng fèi) — barking furiously; 狺声 (yín shēng) — barking sound.