xióng

bear

surname Xiong; (coll.) to scold; to rebuke; (coll.) weak; incapable

bear-animal (能) + fire (灬) = bear

能 originally depicted a bear-like animal, so 熊 inherits that animalistic root. The fire dots (灬) underneath may have reinforced the idea of a powerful, fierce creature — or simply distinguished it as a separate word from 能.

+
Variant of 火Semantic
Originally depicted a bear-like creatureSemantic

Words with 熊

卧龙大熊猫保护区

wò lóng dà xióng māo bǎo hù qū

Wolong Giant Panda Nature Reserve in Wenchuan county, northwest Sichuan

金熊奖

jīn xióng jiǎng

Golden Bear, award at the Berlin International Film Festival

银熊奖

yín xióng jiǎng

Silver Bear, award at the Berlin International Film Festival

马熊

mǎ xióng

brown bear

鱼与熊掌

yú yǔ xióng zhǎng

lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius); fig. you must choose one or the other

鱼与熊掌不可兼得

yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé

lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius); fig. you must choose one or the other

黑熊

hēi xióng

Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)

北极熊

běi jí xióng

polar bear

吃熊心豹子胆

chī xióng xīn bào zi dǎn

to eat bear heart and leopard gall (idiom)

大熊座

dà xióng zuò

Ursa Major, the Great Bear (constellation)

大熊猫

dà xióng māo

giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

大白熊犬

dà bái xióng quǎn

Great Pyrenees (dog breed)