狈 meaning and stroke order
A legendary wolf; distressed, wretched
How to write 狈, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 狈
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- a legendary wolf
- distressed
- wretched
How 狈 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Dog.
犭 gives the meaning and 贝 hints at the sound.
Radical: 犭 (dog), shared by 88 characters on this site.
How to remember 狈
The dog radical 犭 marks an animal, and 贝 (bèi) gives the sound, so 狈 (bèi) is a wolf-like beast that sounds like "shell." Picture a wild dog clutching a shell, looking wretched and caught in trouble.
狈 almost never appears alone in modern Chinese. It lives in the word 狼狈 (lángbèi), which describes someone in an embarrassing or awkward mess. Example: 他被雨淋得很狼狈。(Tā bèi yǔ lín de hěn lángbèi.) He got caught in the rain and looked a total mess.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse 狈 with 贝 (bèi, shell) or 呗 (bei, a sentence particle) because they share the same sound part. Only 狈 has the dog radical 犭 on the left, and it means the legendary wolf.
Common words with 狈
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 狼狈 | lángbèi | in a difficult situation; to cut a sorry figure | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 狈
How many strokes are in 狈?
狈 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 狈 mean?
狈 (bèi) means a legendary wolf; distressed, wretched. A common word with it is 狼狈 (lángbèi), meaning "in a difficult situation; to cut a sorry figure".
How do you pronounce 狈?
狈 is pronounced bèi, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 狈?
The radical of 狈 is 犭, which carries the idea of "dog". Dictionaries list 狈 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 狈?
The traditional form of 狈 is 狽. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 狈 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 狈 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 狈 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the legend behind 狼狈?
In the traditional story, the 狈 had very short front legs and had to lean on the 狼 (láng, wolf) to walk. If they separated, both fell over, so the pair came to suggest an awkward, helpless state.
Is there another common phrase with 狈 besides 狼狈?
Yes, the idiom 狼狈为奸 (láng bèi wéi jiān) means to collude in wrongdoing, like the wolf and the 狈 working together. It is negative and used for people who team up to do bad things.