狐狸 (hú li) — fox; sly or crafty person (figurative) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

foxsly or crafty person (figurative)

Measure word · 只

Examples

狐狸。
Wǒ zài sēn lín lǐ kàn dào yì zhī hú li.
I saw a fox in the forest.
，。
Nà ge shāng rén shì gè lǎo hú li, dà jiā dōu bú xìn rèn tā.
That merchant is an old fox; nobody trusts him.
，狐狸。
Zhè ge gù shi lǐ, hú li dài biǎo jiǎo huá de rén.
In this story, the fox represents a cunning person.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

狸lícat-like animal

A fox is a 狸 (cat-like animal) of the 狐 (fox) kind.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

犭瓜狐

Meaning part形符xíngfú

犭Written in full as犬quǎndog

Sound part声符shēngfú

瓜

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

狐 uses 犭, the dog sign, to mark it as an animal, and 瓜 to give the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

Same sound today

狸 pairs 犬, a dog, with 里, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Animals & Mammals

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