犬

Dog

Stroke count: 4

Readings

On readingケン

Kun readingいぬ

JLPT level: N4 Jōyō Grade 1Level 2

Meanings

dogRtK

dog (Canis (lupus) familiaris)
canine
squealer
rat
snitch

Homonyms

ⓘ

Same reading (いぬ)

Radicals and components

Radical犬dog 犭variant

Components

How it's built

犬

Mnemonic (RtK)

ⓘ

large (大) · St. Bernard (犬) · drop (丶)

From "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig · Frame 253

Compound words

負け犬まけいぬ

loser; failure; underdog; unsuccessful person; non-achiever

愛犬あいけん

pet dog; beloved dog; love of dogs; fondness for dogs

番犬ばんけん

watchdog; guard dog

野犬やけん

stray dog; ownerless dog

猟犬りょうけん

hound; hunting dog; gun dog

子犬こいぬ

puppy; small dog

盲導犬もうどうけん

guide dog; seeing-eye dog

飼い犬かいいぬ

pet dog

犬猿の仲けんえんのなか

like cats and dogs; (on) very bad terms; relationship of dogs and monkeys

Canidae (family containing domestic dogs, wolves, foxes, etc.)

犬歯けんし

eyetooth

犬樟いぬぐす

Machilus thunbergii (species of laurel)

犬槙いぬまき

yew plum pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus)

犬鷲イヌワシ

golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

犬蕨いぬわらび

Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum)

犬椈いぬぶな

Japanese beech (Fagus japonica)

犬榧いぬがや

Japanese plum-yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia)

犬橇いぬぞり

dog sled

犬薺いぬなずな

woodland draba (Draba nemorosa)

犬槇いぬまき

yew plum pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus)

狛犬こまいぬ

(stone) guardian lion-dogs at a Shinto shrine

Kun Reading Examples

私たちは一日に三回、犬に餌を与えている。いぬ

We feed our dog three times a day.tatoeba

ルーシーに私の犬の面倒を見てもらった。いぬ

My dog was taken care of by Lucy.tatoeba

Additional Examples

彼は彼女に犬を買ってやった。

He bought her a dog.tatoeba

彼は日曜日に息子といっしょに犬小屋を作った。

He made a kennel with his son on Sunday.tatoeba

彼は日曜大工で犬小屋を作った。

As a do-it-yourselfer, he made a doghouse.tatoeba

彼は大事な犬をとうてい手放すことはできなかった。

He couldn't possibly part with his beloved dog.tatoeba

Stroke Order

4 strokes

Dog. 大 (big) + a dot — like a dog's ear sticking up.

Practice Writing

Practice Writing 犬

Draw with a guide, then from memory — checked at every step