Kun Reading
犬 OR 狗 | いぬ inu
noun
: dog (Canis (lupus) familiaris)
: snoop (i.e. a detective, a spy, etc.)
: (Noun prefix) counterfeit; inferior; useless; wasteful
On Reading
けん ken
犬種[种] quan3zhong3: dog breed
[犬種 | けんしゅ kenshu: breed of dog]
犬儒 quan3ru2: cynic [けんじゅ kenju]
犬齒[齿] quan3chi3: canine tooth
[犬歯 | けんし kenshi: eyetooth; cuspid; canine (tooth); dogtooth]
愛[爱]犬 ai4quan3: beloved pet dog
[愛犬 | あいけん aiken: pet dog]
小犬 xiao3 quan3: puppy; my son (humble)
[こいぬ koinu: puppy]
仔犬 OR 子犬 | こいぬ koinu: puppy
Japanese common word | expression | idiom
犬子 OR 犬児 | えのこ enoko OR えのころ enokoro: puppy
犬猫 | いぬねこ inu neko: dogs and cats; pets
犬侍 | いぬざむらい inu zamurai: cowardly or depraved samurai
犬に論語 | いぬにろんご inu ni rongo
: wasting one’s breath (trying to explain something); (reading) the Analects of Confucius to a dog
犬も食わない | いぬもくわない inu mo kuwanai
: avoided by everybody; disliked by everybody; lit: not even a dog will eat
犬も歩けば棒に当る | いぬもあるけばぼうにあたる inu mo aruke babou ni ataru
: no matter what you attempt, tragedy may befall you; even a dog, if it walks, will bump into a pole
: (Idiomatic expression) good luck may come unexpectedly
夫婦喧嘩は犬も食わない | ふうふげんかはいぬもくわない fuufu genka wa inu mo kuwanai
: One should not interfere in lover’s quarrels
負け犬の遠吠え | まけいぬのとおぼえ make inu no tooboe
: grumbling of a loser; loser’s whining; sour grapes
犬夜叉 quan3 ye4 cha4 | いぬやしゃ inuyasha
: Inuyasha, fictional character (dog demon in a manga)
Chinese idiom
虎父無犬子 [虎父无犬子] hu3 fu4 wu2 quan3 zi3
: lit. If the father is a lion (tiger), the son cannot be a dog (honorific). With a distinguished father, the son is sure to do well. Like father, like son
一人得道，雞犬升天 [一人得道，鸡犬升天] yi1 ren2 de2 dao4 , ji1 quan3 sheng1 tian1
: lit. when a man achieves the Tao, his chicken and dogs rise to Heaven; fig. to ride on sb else’s success. Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too. Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it too
象形 Pictographic.
Picture of a dog
Old Variant.
犮 quan3
Semantic.
犭quan3: dog radical 94
“Dog” radical 94
Look-alike:
术 shu4: art; skill; special feat; method; technique
Examples:
【谚】吠犬不咬人。
(proverb) fei4 quan3 bu4 yao3 ren2.
Barking dogs seldom bite.
Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary
