猾 meaning and stroke order
Crafty, cunning, shrewd; deceitful
How to write 猾, stroke by stroke
12 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 猾
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- sly
How 猾 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Dog.
犭 gives the meaning and 骨 hints at the sound.
Radical: 犭 (dog), shared by 88 characters on this site.
How to remember 猾
The animal radical 犭 (a dog or beast) sits next to 骨 (gǔ, bone), which gives the sound. Picture a sly dog sneaking off with a bone when no one is looking, and you have 猾 (huá), crafty.
猾 almost never appears alone in modern Chinese. You will meet it in the word 狡猾 (jiǎohuá), which describes a sly person or animal. Example: 狐狸很狡猾。(Húli hěn jiǎohuá.) The fox is very cunning.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 猾 with 滑 (huá, slippery), because they share the same sound and the same 骨 part. Remember that 猾 has the animal radical 犭 for a sly creature, while 滑 has the water radical 氵 for something wet and slippery.
Common words with 猾
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 狡猾 | jiǎohuá | crafty; cunning; sly | HSK 7-9 |
猾 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 猾
How many strokes are in 猾?
猾 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 猾 mean?
猾 (huá) means crafty, cunning, shrewd; deceitful. A common word with it is 狡猾 (jiǎohuá), meaning "crafty; cunning; sly".
How do you pronounce 猾?
猾 is pronounced huá, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 猾?
The radical of 猾 is 犭, which carries the idea of "dog". Dictionaries list 猾 under this radical.
Is 猾 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 猾 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 狡猾 always negative?
Usually yes. It describes someone who tricks others, so calling a person 狡猾 is a criticism. In stories it is often used playfully for clever animals like foxes.
Why is 猾 pronounced huá if 骨 is read gǔ?
骨 is the phonetic part, but sound components often only hint at the reading after centuries of sound change. Other characters with 骨, such as 滑 (huá), share the huá sound, which can help you remember it.