兽 shòu — beast · English

兽

shòu

beast

At a glance · 兽

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

「兽」繁体「獸」从嘼从犬，金文象犬逐猎，小篆承之。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「兽」本义为猎取、兽类，引申走兽、野兽。

Structure

从嘼、从犬，会意字，本为狩猎、猎物，后指兽类。简作兽。

At a glance

Pinyinshòu

Radical丷

Strokes11

UnicodeU+517D

Character type会意

Theme动物

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English beast beast, animal; bestial

Français bête / animal Bête, animal. «图写禽兽» : les bêtes.

Español bestia / animal Bestia, animal. «图写禽兽»: las bestias.

العربية وحش / حيوان وحش، حيوان. «图写禽兽»: الوحوش.

Русский зверь / животное Зверь, животное. «图写禽兽»: звери.

Common words

野兽yě shòuwild animal
兽shòubeast

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