豺 (chái) · dhole (Cuon alpinus, Asian wild dog)

Measure Word

一只豺 zhī

Meanings

1 dhole (Cuon alpinus, Asian wild dog)
2 jackal (in older usage)

Characters

豺

chái

dhole, jackal

Examples

HSK 6

豺狼成性，不可轻信。

Cháiláng chéngxìng, bùkě qīngxìn.

Cruel as jackals and wolves - don't trust them lightly.

HSK 7-9

豺是一种凶猛的野兽。

Chái shì yì zhǒng xiōngměng de yěshòu.

The dhole is a fierce wild beast.

Tips

culture

豺 has the 豸 radical, used for many predatory beasts (also in 豹 leopard, 貂 marten). Most often appears in 豺狼 ('jackals and wolves'), a metaphor for cruel and ravenous people, and the idiom 豺狼当道 - 'jackals and wolves block the road', meaning evil people hold power.

Components

radical

豸 zhì

legless beast; long-bodied animal (radical)

Left beast radical 豸 - Kangxi #153, a side-view of a long-bodied predator: head, arched spine, four legs, drooping tail. The indexing radical, marking 豺 as a wild canid. Same radical groups 豺 with 豹 (leopard), 貂 (sable), 貉 (raccoon dog). Distinct from 犭 which covers dog-like mammals more broadly.

phonetic

才 cái

talent; just now

Right 才 supplies the sound - cái shifting to chái through a regular c/ch alternation. 才 itself originally depicted a sprouting plant pushing through soil. Same phonetic feeds 材 (timber), 财 (wealth), 在 (at), all in the cái family. Choice of 才 here is purely phonetic; the canid lives in the radical.