天狗 (tiān gǒu) — mythological Heavenly Hound (associated with solar and lunar eclipses)

Definition

天狗 (tiāngǒu) is a mythological dog-like creature from Chinese legend, blamed in ancient tales for 'swallowing' the sun or moon and causing eclipses.

noun
mythological Heavenly Hound (associated with solar and lunar eclipses)

Examples

  • ，天狗。
    Gǔ dài chuán shuō zhōng, tiān gǒu huì chī diào tài yáng.
    In ancient legends, the Heavenly Hound would eat the sun.
  • 天狗。
    Hěn duō rén yǐ wéi tiān gǒu shì dài lái rì shí de yuán yīn.
    Many people thought the Heavenly Hound was the cause of solar eclipses.
  • 天狗。
    Zhè běn xiǎo shuō lǐ chū xiàn le tiān gǒu de jué sè.
    This novel features the character of the Heavenly Hound.

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.

天tiānheaven
狗gǒudog

天 “heaven” and 狗 “dog” form the legendary heavenly dog.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù狗gǒu
Same sound today

狗 combines 犬, meaning dog, with 句, which gives the sound.

Open 狗 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.