māo

cat

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Components
豸 meaning component

  Meaning component

zhì

  

beast

苗 sound component

  Sound component

miáo

  

sprouts

Evolution

貓 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
貓 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

() 

māo

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

Most common words with 貓
Freq.
Word
Meaning

cat

熊猫

panda

大熊猫

giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

小猫

kitten

猫头鹰

owl