About
The character 狎 is a phono-semantic compound, where the semantic radical 犭 (dog) points to the meaning and the phonetic 甲 (on the right) suggests the sound. It originally described the familiar, unconstrained way dogs play together, an image that later came to be used metaphorically for human social interactions. In human contexts, it denotes excessive intimacy or inappropriate familiarity, typically carrying a negative sense of disrespect, taking liberties, and disregarding proper boundaries and decorum.
Etymology Hide
Report an issue
Flag incorrect definitions, examples, etymology, etc.