māo

cat (CL:隻|只[zhi1])

(dialect) to hide oneself; (loanword) (coll.) modem

animal (犭) + sound of its cry (苗) = cat

The dog radical marks it as an animal, which is all the semantic work being done here. 苗 contributes the sound māo, echoing the cat's own cry.

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DogSemantic
SeedlingPhonetic

Words with 猫

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

过猫

guò māo

(Tw) edible fern fronds (fiddleheads), specifically Diplazium esculentum

郎猫

láng māo

(coll.) tomcat

野生猫

yě shēng māo

wild cat

野猫

yě māo

wildcat

阿猫阿狗

ā māo ā gǒu

(idiom) (coll.) any Tom, Dick or Harry; just about anyone (used dismissively)

雄猫

xióng māo

male cat, usually 公貓|公猫[gong1 mao1]

灵猫

líng māo

civet (arboreal cat)

灵猫类

líng māo lèi

a civet (arboreal cat)

馋猫

chán māo

(humorous) person with a strong appetite; greedy eater (used playfully)

麝香猫

shè xiāng māo

civet (zoology)

龙猫

lóng māo

chinchilla

More characters with 犭