Definitions

shǐ hog; swine

Etymology

Pictograph of a pig.

About

The character "豕" derives from an early pictograph of a pig, with its contemporary form consisting of strokes that schematically represent the animal's body, legs, and tail. Its core meaning of "pig" has remained consistent, but its standalone use has become largely literary or archaic, as the character "猪" now serves as the common term for the animal. As a semantic component, "豕" contributes this porcine meaning to various compound characters, such as in "家" where it appears below the roof radical 宀, and in "豚" where it forms the right-hand element.

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