<p>The radical in 猫 actually comes from <strong>豸 zhi4 (beast)</strong>, which you can still see in the traditional character 貓. <br></p>

<p>Whereas the radical in 狗 is in fact 犭 quan3. </p>

<p>The simplified version of 猫 got the 犭 quan3 radical because of trait reduction and semantic affinity (dog -> beast). </p>

<p>If it sounds easier to you, you can think of 犭 quan3 in simplified Chinese as generically referring to an animal, as in 狼 (wolf), 狮 (lion), 猴 (monkey), 狐 (fox) and words relating to animals as 猎 (hunt).</p>

<p>As for your other question: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>1) Why a dog radical has the dog in it with other components?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The dog <strong>radical</strong> 犭 comes from 犬 which is a pictogram, still used in some words today, especially dog breeds. No radicals other than the image itself. Here you can see an evolution of the picture. (Source: Wenlin, and possibly 说文解字).</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/0J1Ye.png"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/0J1Ye.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>If you are talking about the modern character 狗 gou3, it comes from the semantic/radical <strong>犭 quan3</strong> plus the phonetic part <strong>句 ju4</strong>. It was probably a colloquial or popular name for "dog" which has made it into the standard language, whereas 犬 keeps a more classical and scientific flavor.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-15T12:03:23.573Z
2017-01-15T12:11:58.983Z
2017-01-15T12:11:58.983Z
blackgreen
<p>I have noticed that a cat and dog share the same radical, which is 犭dog (quǎn).</p>

<p>So, if we break the words down:</p>

<p>猫 cat (māo) = 犭dog (quǎn) + 艹 cǎo (grass) + 田 tián (field)</p>

<p>狗 dog (gǒu) = 犭dog (quǎn) + 勹 bāo (wrap) + 口 kǒu (mouth)</p>

<p>I have two questions:</p>

<p>1) Why a dog radical has the dog in it <em>with other components</em>?</p>

<p>2) Why a cat has the dog radical it in?</p>

<p>These words are not difficult to remember. For a cat, I use 'meow', which is somehow similar to māo. For a dog, I stick to 'Go, go, dog!', which sounds a bit like gǒu.</p>

<p>However, I am curious about the origin of these words. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-15T12:10:13.543Z
1. Both 狗 and 貓 are 形聲字.
2. Nobody says 犭 can only be used for Canidae.
user3a
<glyph-origin><radicals><comparison>
Why do cat (猫) and dog (狗) share the same 犭 radical?
# Why do cat (猫) and dog (狗) share the same 犭 radical?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-01-15)

I have noticed that a cat and dog share the same radical, which is 犭dog (quǎn).

So, if we break the words down:

猫 cat (māo) = 犭dog (quǎn) + 艹 cǎo (grass) + 田 tián (field)

狗 dog (gǒu) = 犭dog (quǎn) + 勹 bāo (wrap) + 口 kǒu (mouth)

I have two questions:

1) Why a dog radical has the dog in it *with other components*?

2) Why a cat has the dog radical it in?

These words are not difficult to remember. For a cat, I use 'meow', which is somehow similar to māo. For a dog, I stick to 'Go, go, dog!', which sounds a bit like gǒu.

However, I am curious about the origin of these words.

**Tags:** glyph-origin, radicals, comparison

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 1. Both 狗 and 貓 are 形聲字. 2. Nobody says 犭 can only be used for Canidae.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-01-15. Score: 9 | Accepted answer

The radical in 猫 actually comes from **豸 zhi4 (beast)**, which you can still see in the traditional character 貓.

Whereas the radical in 狗 is in fact 犭 quan3.

The simplified version of 猫 got the 犭 quan3 radical because of trait reduction and semantic affinity (dog -> beast).

If it sounds easier to you, you can think of 犭 quan3 in simplified Chinese as generically referring to an animal, as in 狼 (wolf), 狮 (lion), 猴 (monkey), 狐 (fox) and words relating to animals as 猎 (hunt).

As for your other question:

> 1) Why a dog radical has the dog in it with other components?

The dog **radical** 犭 comes from 犬 which is a pictogram, still used in some words today, especially dog breeds. No radicals other than the image itself. Here you can see an evolution of the picture. (Source: Wenlin, and possibly 说文解字).

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/0J1Ye.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/0J1Ye.png)

If you are talking about the modern character 狗 gou3, it comes from the semantic/radical **犭 quan3** plus the phonetic part **句 ju4**. It was probably a colloquial or popular name for "dog" which has made it into the standard language, whereas 犬 keeps a more classical and scientific flavor.


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