狼 (láng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

狼

láng[lang2]Tone 2

wolf

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · wolf

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (dog radical 犭) occupies about one-third of the width, compressed vertically, while the right side (良) takes the remaining two-thirds with a stable, balanced base.

1. Meaning

wolf

cruel or greedy personsavage or ferocious

NounNeutral#animals#nature#personality traits

Sample Usage

森林里有狼吗？
sēnlín lǐ yǒu láng ma?
Are there wolves in the forest?
这是一只孤狼。
zhè shì yī zhī gū láng.
This is a lone wolf.

2. Sound

/[laŋ³⁵]/Tone: 35

狼

lánglang2

´(35)

=láng

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

lang

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Alveolar Lateral

Sounds like: English 'l' sound as in 'lamp'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Air flows freely around both sides of tongue.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge right behind the upper front teeth, then drops as voice flows.

Final Rhyme

ang

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: ang rhymes with 'ung' in sung or 'ang' in bang

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahng'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises from medium pitch to high pitch, exactly like asking 'Huh?' or 'Really?' in English conversation.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the rising Tone 2 (35) with Tone 4 (51) making it sound like a sharp command rather than a question.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand sweep starting mid-chest and moving up to eye level, mirroring an upward staircase or an inquisitive nod.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

4. Components

Radical 犭 · Dog Radical (Animals, beasts, quadrupeds)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 犭 (Indicates that the character belongs to the category of animals or beasts.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 良 (original sound: liáng / láng)

A ferocious beast (犭 - dog radical) that looks somewhat fine or good (良 - excellent/good) from afar, but is actually a cunning wolf.

犭 Dog radical representing animals
良 Provides the phonetic sound 'láng'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

13· Phonetic Root: 良 (liáng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the dog/beast classifier (犭) to signify a wild canine predator and the phonetic element (良) which provided the pronunciation.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred specifically to the wild wolf. Over time, it also extended metaphorically to describe cruel, rapacious, or ruthless people.

In ancient Chinese folklore, wolves symbolized greed and cunningness.
Idioms like 'wolf heart and dog lungs' (狼心狗肺) describe utterly wicked people.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ロウ / Kun: おおかみ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

낭

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a WILD DOG (犭) with a GOOD (良) coat of fur, but it howls at the moon because it is actually a fierce WOLF (狼).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

良

liánggoodPhonetic Core (声旁)

娘

niángvariant of 娘[niang2]+ 女 (woman)

浪

làngwave+ 氵 (water)

粮

liánggrain, food, provisions+ 米 (rice)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

良(liáng)

Missing the animal/dog radical (犭) on the left; means 'good' or 'excellent'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

森林里有一只凶猛的[___]。

Clue: láng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right-side component '良' with similar-looking characters, or forgetting to write the compressed dog radical (犭) properly on the left.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What animal does the character 狼 represent and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character for 'wolf' (láng) using the dog radical and phonetic component?

狼lángwolf

Speed:

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