Definitions
sparrow hawk; swift
Etymology
About
The Chinese character 鹯 is a phono-semantic compound. Its phonetic component 亶 on the left determines the pronunciation, while the semantic radical 鸟 on the right indicates it refers to a bird. The traditional form 鸇 uses the unsimplified 鳥 radical for the same purpose. The character denotes a sparrow hawk or a similar small to medium-sized bird of prey, often appearing in classical literature to describe swift, aggressive predators diving at their prey.