Definitions

liú owl

Etymology phono-semantic

bird

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

is the simplified counterpart of traditional . It refers to an owl and typically appears in the binome 鸺鹠. Structurally, it is a phono-semantic compound: the left side is the simplified bird radical , signaling a bird, and the right side is the phonetic , giving the reading liú. The phonetic may additionally evoke the owl's habit of staying in one place through the night. The character was simplified by replacing the complex radical with , while the phonetic was retained exactly as in the traditional form.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern