Definitions

shǐ hog; swine

Etymology

Pictograph of a pig.

About

The character 豕 is a foundational pictograph depicting a pig, showing its side profile with a snout, bristles, four legs, and tail. It functions both as an independent character and as a core semantic radical. While it remains the classical noun for swine, modern Chinese typically uses other terms in everyday speech. Its primary role is as a component in compound characters, where it conveys meanings related to livestock, domestic animals, or early agricultural life, as seen in the character for "home" or "family".

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern