獭 meaning and stroke order
Otter
How to write 獭, stroke by stroke
16 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 獭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- otter
- Taiwan pr. [ta4]
How 獭 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Animal.
犭 gives the meaning and 赖 hints at the sound.
Radical: 犭 (dog), shared by 88 characters on this site.
How to remember 獭
The left side 犭 is the animal radical, so 獭 is an animal. The right side 赖 (lài) gives the sound, so picture a lazy otter that relies on (赖) the river for its food.
獭 rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It usually shows up in animal names, most often 水獭 (shuǐtǎ), the river otter. Example: 河里有一只水獭。(Hé lǐ yǒu yì zhī shuǐtǎ.) There is an otter in the river.
Common mistake: Learners often read 獭 as lài because of the phonetic part 赖, but the character is pronounced tǎ. Also be careful with the right side: 赖 has 束 on the left and 负 on the right, so do not write it as 頼 or drop strokes from 负.
Common words with 獭
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 水獭 | shuǐtǎ | otter |
Questions about 獭
How many strokes are in 獭?
獭 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 獭 mean?
獭 (tǎ) means otter. A common word with it is 水獭 (shuǐtǎ), meaning "otter".
How do you pronounce 獭?
獭 is pronounced tǎ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 獭?
The radical of 獭 is 犭, which carries the idea of "dog". Dictionaries list 獭 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 獭?
The traditional form of 獭 is 獺. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 獭 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
How do you say sea otter in Chinese?
A sea otter is 海獭 (hǎitǎ), literally a sea otter, while 水獭 (shuǐtǎ) usually refers to a river otter. Both use 獭 with a word that names where the animal lives.
Is 獭 pronounced tǎ or tà?
In mainland standard Mandarin it is third tone, tǎ. In Taiwan many speakers say it with the fourth tone, tà, so you may hear both.