懂中文 Dong Chinese

猫

māo

cat

Phonosemantic compound. 犭 represents the meaning and 苗 represents the sound. Simplified form of 貓.

Components
犭 meaning component

犭  Meaning component

quǎn

  

dog

犭 is a component form of 犬.

苗 sound component

苗  Sound component

miáo

  

sprouts

Evolution

猫 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
猫 Traditional script Modern

Traditional script

Modern
猫 Simplified script Modern

Simplified script

Modern
Definitions

猫 (貓) 

māo

cat; CL:隻|只[zhī]; (dialect) to hide oneself; (coll.) modem

Most common words with 猫
Freq.
Word
Meaning

猫

cat

熊猫

panda

大熊猫

giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

小猫

kitten

猫头鹰

owl