犬

See also: 大 and 太

Translingual

Stroke order

Alternative forms

• 犭 (when used as a left Chinese radical)

Although the alternative form clearly shows only three strokes, it is still counted as four strokes when using a Chinese dictionary. Compare 氵 from 水 (“water”), 扌 from 手 (“hand”), and 忄 from 心 (“heart”), all of which are a 3-stroke form from a 4-stroke character.

Han character

犬 (Kangxi radical 94, 犬+0, 4 strokes, cangjie input 戈大 (IK), four-corner 4303₀, composition ⿺大丶)

1. Kangxi radical #94, ⽝.

Derived characters

• Index:Chinese radical/犬
• 默 (黙) 䭾

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 705, character 27
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 20234
• Dae Jaweon: page 1118, character 14
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1331, character 1
• Unihan data for U+72AC

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		犬

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 犬
Shang		Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (犬) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
猚	*ŋreːl, *rulʔ
畎	*kʷeːnʔ
汱	*kʷeːnʔ
甽	*kljuns, *kʷeːnʔ
犬	*kʰʷeːnʔ

Pictogram (象形) The side view of a dog.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-kʷəj-n (“dog”).

This common Sino-Tibetan word has been replaced by 狗 (OC *koːʔ) in most dialects except Min Dong, such as Fuzhou kēng. In other dialects, this word is mainly found in compounds and not used alone.

Definitions

A dog (a Labrador)

(deprecated template usage) 犬

1. (literary or Eastern Min, dialectal Wu) dog

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 狗 (“dog”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		犬
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		狗
Taxonomic name		犬
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	狗
	Taiwan	狗
	Chengde	狗
	Chifeng	狗
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	狗
	Heihe	狗
	Qiqihar	狗
	Harbin	狗
	Jiamusi	狗
	Baicheng	狗
	Changchun	狗
	Tonghua	狗
	Shenyang	狗
	Jinzhou	狗
	Malaysia	狗
	Singapore	狗
	Olginsky (Mikhaylovka)	狗
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	狗
	Tangshan	狗
	Cangzhou	狗
	Baoding	狗
	Shijiazhuang	狗
	Lijin	狗
	Jinan	狗
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	狗
	Dandong	狗
	Yantai	狗子
	Yantai (Muping)	狗子, 狗
	Qingdao	狗
	Zhucheng	狗
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	狗
	Lingbao	狗
	Jining	狗
	Wanrong	狗
	Linfen	狗
	Shangqiu	狗
	Yuanyang	狗
	Zhengzhou	狗
	Xinyang	狗
	Baihe	狗, 狗子
	Xi'an	狗
	Dingbian	狗
	Baoji	狗
	Tianshui	狗
	Xining	狗
	Yanqi	狗
	Xuzhou	狗
	Fuyang	狗
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	狗
	Lanzhou	狗
	Dunhuang	狗
	Hami	狗
	Ürümqi	狗
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	狗
	Nanchong	狗
	Dazhou	狗
	Hanyuan	狗
	Xichang	狗
	Zigong	狗
	Chongqing	狗, 狗兒
	Wuhan	狗, 狗子, 狗狗 childish, 來富 dated
	Yichang	狗, 狗子
	Xiangyang	狗, 狗子
	Tianmen	狗, 狗子
	Guiyang	狗
	Zunyi	狗
	Bijie	狗
	Liping	狗
	Zhaotong	狗
	Dali	狗
	Kunming	狗
	Mengzi	狗
	Guilin	狗
	Liuzhou	狗, 狗崽, 三六, 地羊 as food
	Jishou	狗
	Changde	狗, 狗子
	Hanzhong	狗
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	狗
	Yangzhou	狗, 狗子
	Lianyungang	狗
	Lianshui	狗
	Nantong	狗, 狗子
	Anqing	狗
	Wuhu	狗
	Hefei	狗
	Hong'an	狗子
Cantonese	Guangzhou	狗
	Hong Kong	狗, 㕵㕵 childish, 㕵㕵狗 childish
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	狗
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	狗
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	狗
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	狗
	Macau	狗
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	狗
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	狗
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	狗
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	狗
	Foshan	狗
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	狗
	Foshan (Shunde)	狗
	Foshan (Sanshui)	狗
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	狗
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	狗
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	狗
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	狗
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	狗
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	狗
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	狗
	Taishan	狗
	Kaiping (Chikan)	狗
	Enping (Niujiang)	狗
	Heshan (Yayao)	狗
	Dongguan	狗
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	狗
	Shaoguan	狗
	Yunfu	狗
	Yangjiang	狗
	Xinyi	狗
	Lianjiang	狗
	Nanning	狗
	Wuzhou	狗
	Yulin	狗
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	狗
	Beihai	狗
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	狗
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	狗
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	狗
	Penang (Guangfu)	狗
	Singapore (Guangfu)	狗
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	狗
	Móng Cái	狗
Gan	Nanchang	狗
	Lichuan	狗
	Pingxiang	狗
Hakka	Meixian	狗, 無角羊
	Dabu (Xihe)	狗
	Dabu (Taoyuan)	狗
	Dabu (Gaobei)	狗
	Fengshun (Tangkeng)	狗
	Fengshun (Fengliang)	狗
	Fengshun (Pantian)	狗
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	狗
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	狗
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	狗
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	狗
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	狗
	Changting	狗
	Yudu	狗子
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	狗仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	狗仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	狗, 狗仔
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	狗
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	狗
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	狗
	Hong Kong	狗
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	狗
	Sabah (Longchuan)	狗
	Kuala Lumpur (Dabu)	狗
	Senai (Huiyang)	狗
	Kuching (Hepo)	狗
	Singkawang	狗
Huizhou	Jixi	狗
	Shexian	狗
Jin	Taiyuan	狗兒, 狗
	Yangyuan	狗
	Datong	狗, 狗娃子
	Xinzhou	狗
	Lüliang (Lishi)	狗兒
	Changzhi	狗
	Linhe	狗, 狗子
	Jining	狗
	Hohhot	狗
	Erenhot	狗
	Pingshan	狗
	Zhangjiakou	狗
	Handan	狗
	Linzhou	狗
	Suide	狗
Northern Min	Jian'ou	狗仔, 狗
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	犬, 犬囝
	Fuzhou (Changle)	犬
	Fuqing	犬
	Yongtai	犬
	Gutian	犬
	Fu'an	犬
	Ningde	犬
	Shouning	犬
	Zhouning	犬
	Fuding	犬
	Matsu	犬
Southern Min	Xiamen	狗
	Quanzhou	狗
	Zhangzhou	狗
	Zhao'an	狗
	Kaohsiung	狗
	Yilan	狗
	Changhua (Lukang)	狗
	Taichung	狗
	Taichung (Wuqi)	狗
	Tainan	狗仔
	Taitung	狗
	Hsinchu	狗
	Penghu (Magong)	狗
	Penang (Hokkien)	狗
	Singapore (Hokkien)	狗
	Manila (Hokkien)	狗
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	狗
	Chaozhou	狗
	Shantou	狗
	Haifeng	狗
	Bangkok (Teochew)	狗
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	狗
	Singapore (Teochew)	狗
	Leizhou	狗, 四五
	Wenchang	狗
	Haikou	狗
	Singapore (Hainanese)	狗
Puxian Min	Putian	狗
	Xianyou	狗
Central Min	Nanping (Wangtai, Yanping)	狗
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	狗
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	狗, 地羊 dated, euphemistic, 三六 argot, 四打五 argot
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	狗
Shehua	Fu'an	狗
	Fuding	狗
	Luoyuan	狗
	Sanming	狗
	Shunchang	狗
	Hua'an	狗
	Guixi (Zhangping)	狗
	Cangnan	狗
	Jingning (Hexi)	狗
	Lishui	狗
	Longyou	狗
	Chaozhou	狗
	Fengshun	狗
Waxiang	Guzhang (Gaofeng)	犬
	Yuanling (Shaojiwan)	犬
	Luxi (Baisha)	犬
	Luxi (Liangjiatan)	犬
	Luxi (Lijiatian)	犬
	Chengbu (Xuntou)	犬
Wu	Shanghai	狗, 汪汪狗 childish
	Shanghai (Chongming)	狗
	Suzhou	狗
	Danyang	狗子
	Hangzhou	狗
	Ningbo	黃狗
	Wenzhou	狗, 𡀿𡀿 childish
	Jinhua	狗
Xiang	Changsha	狗
	Xiangxiang	狗
	Loudi	狗
	Shuangfeng	狗
	Quanzhou	狗

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (犬):

• → Japanese: 犬(けん) (ken)
• → Korean: 견(犬) (gyeon)
• → Vietnamese: khuyển (犬)

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

犬

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. a dog
2. the dog radical (いぬ)

Readings

• Go-on: けん (ken, Jōyō)^{←けん (ken, historical)←くゑん (kwen, ancient)}
• Kan-on: けん (ken, Jōyō)^{←けん (ken, historical)←くゑん (kwen, ancient)}
• Kun: いぬ (inu, 犬, Jōyō)

Compounds

Compounds

• 一(いっ)犬(けん) (ikken): one dog
• 雌(めす)犬(いぬ) (mesuinu)
• 雄(お)犬(いぬ) (oinu), 牡(お)犬(いぬ) (oinu)
• 家(いえ)犬(いぬ) (ieinu)
• 野(や)犬(けん) (yaken)
• 子(こ)犬(いぬ) (koinu), 小(こ)犬(いぬ) (koinu), 仔(こ)犬(いぬ) (koinu)
• 愛(あい)犬(けん) (aiken)
• 犬(いぬ)ちゃん (inu-chan)
• 秋(あき)田(た)犬(いぬ) (Akita inu), 秋(あき)田(た)犬(けん) (Akita ken)
• 土佐(とさ)犬(いぬ) (Tosa inu), 土佐(とさ)犬(いぬ) (Tosa inu)
• 柴(しば)犬(いぬ) (Shiba inu), 柴犬(しばけん) (Shiba ken)
• 猟(りょう)犬(けん) (ryōken)
• 狛(こま)犬(いぬ) (komainu)
• 狩(しゅ)猟(りょう)犬(けん) (shuryōken)
• 警(けい)察(さつ)犬(けん) (keisatsuken)
• 攻(こう)撃(げき)犬(けん) (kōgekiken)
• 三(さん)頭(とう)犬(けん) (santōken)
• 犬(いぬ)張(はり)子(こ) (inuhariko, “papier-mâché dog doll”)
• 老(ろう)犬(けん) (rōken): old dog
• 豚(とん)犬(けん) (tonken): pig and dog; fool; my child
• 犬(けん)吠(ばい) (kenbai): the barking of a dog, or the sound thereof

• 駄(だ)犬(けん) (daken): mongrel dog
• 雑(ざっ)犬(けん) (zakken): mongrel dog
• 番(ばん)犬(けん) (banken)
• 警(けい)備(び)犬(けん) (keibiken)
• 探(たん)知(ち)犬(けん) (tanchiken)
• 救(きゅう)助(じょ)犬(けん) (kyūjoken)
• 死(し)体(たい)犬(けん) (shitaiken)
• 麻(ま)薬(やく)犬(けん) (mayakuken)
• 放(ほう)火(か)犬(けん) (hōkaken)
• 盲(もう)導(どう)犬(けん) (mōdōken)
• 聴(ちょう)導(どう)犬(けん) (chōdōken)
• 介(かい)助(じょ)犬(けん) (kaijoken)
• 犬(いぬ)神(がみ) (inugami)
• 山(やま)犬(いぬ) (yamainu)
• 鬣(たてがみ)犬(いぬ) (tategamiinu): hyena
• 犬(けん)歯(し) (kenshi, “canine tooth”)

Etymology

犬 (inu): various kinds of dog.

Kanji in this term
犬
いぬ Grade: 1
kun’yomi

From Old Japanese. Derivation uncertain. Various theories exist, including derivation from ancient verb 往ぬ (inu, “to leave, to be gone”), from the way a dog will guard the house while the master is away; from a compound of 家 (ie, “house, home”) + 寝 (nu, “to sleep”, ancient monosyllabic form of modern 寝る neru); from ancient Japanese 狗 (enu, “puppy, dog”), itself of uncertain derivation; or as a borrowing from some other unknown language.

Alternative forms

• 狗

Noun

犬(いぬ) or 犬(イヌ) • (inu)  (counter 匹)

1. dog; canine

   犬(いぬ)に毎(まい)日(にち)餌(えさ)を上(あ)げて下(くだ)さい。

   Inu ni mainichi esa o agete kudasai.

   Please feed the dog every day.

2. one who is loyal (like a dog)
3. a spy

Descendants

• → Yami: ino

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Korean

Hanja

犬 (eumhun 개 견 (gae gyeon))

1. dog

Synonyms

• 개 (gae)

Derived terms

• 犬公 (견공, gyeongong) (personification)
• 犬馬 (견마, gyeonma) dog and horse
• 犬儒 (견유, gyeonyu) cynic
• 犬猿 (견원, gyeonwon) dog and monkey
• 猛犬 (맹견, maenggyeon) fierce dog
• 愛犬 (애견, aegyeon) pet dog
• 鬪犬 (투견, tugyeon) fighting dog

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Miyako

Kanji

犬 (hiragana いん, romaji in)

Etymology

Cognate with Japanese 犬 (inu).

Noun

犬 (hiragana いん, romaji in)

1. dog

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Northern Amami-Oshima

Kanji

犬 (hiragana いん, romaji in)

Etymology

Cognate with Japanese 犬 (inu).

Noun

犬 (hiragana いん, romaji in)

1. dog

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Okinawan

Kanji

犬

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Kun: いん (in, 犬)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
犬
いん Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Cognate with Japanese 犬 (inu).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʔiŋ̍]

Noun

犬(いん) (in) 

1. dog (Canis familiaris); domestic dog

Compounds

• 犬子 (いんぐゎー, ingwā, “puppy, small dog”)

References

• “いん【犬】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

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Southern Amami-Oshima

Kanji

犬 (hiragana いん, romaji in)

Etymology

Cognate with Japanese 犬 (inu).

Noun

犬 (hiragana いん, romaji in)

1. dog

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Vietnamese

Han character

犬: Hán Việt readings: khuyển
犬: Nôm readings: khuyển, chó

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