gǒu
dog
我家有一只狗。
wǒ jiā yǒu yī zhǐ gǒu.
I have a dog at home.
狗是人类最忠诚的朋友。
gǒu shì rénlèi zuì zhōngchéng de péngyou.
Dogs are the most loyal friends of humans.
狗喜欢吃骨头。
gǒu xǐhuan chī gǔtou.
Dogs like to eat bones.
犬 (quǎn)
dog
狗子 (gǒuzi)
dog
猫 (māo)
cat
猪 (zhū)
pig
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The Chinese character 狗 (gǒu) for "dog" has a rich history and etymology. It is composed of two parts: the radical 犬 (quǎn), which represents the general concept of "dog", and the phonetic component 苟 (gǒu), which provides the pronunciation. The radical 犬 is a pictograph, depicting a dog with its tail wagging. It is one of the oldest Chinese characters, dating back to the oracle bone script of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). The phonetic component 苟, on the other hand, is a later addition, added during the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) to help clarify the pronunciation of the character. The character 狗 has remained largely unchanged since then, and it continues to be used in modern Chinese to represent the concept of "dog".
