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狃 (niǔ) is a phono-semantic compound: the semantic radical 犭 (quǎn, "dog" or "animal") indicates the meaning, while 丑 (chǒu) gives the pronunciation. It originally referred to an animal's habitual or repetitive behavior, then came to describe people who are accustomed to something or repeatedly engage in a negative action. The meaning broadened to encompass familiarity and habit, often with a pejorative connotation for someone too accustomed to a situation or constantly repeating a fault.
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