Chinese character for rabbit: 兔 (tù)

The Chinese character for rabbit is 兔 (tù). It means rabbit or hare and is the fourth animal of the Chinese zodiac. It appears in 兔子 (tùzi, rabbit) and 兔年 (tù nián, Year of the Rabbit).

How 兔 is built

兔 is a pictograph of a rabbit with long ears at the top and a crouching body below. The small dot at the lower right is the short tail. Without that dot it becomes 免 (miǎn, to avoid), so the tail matters. As a memory aid, the rabbit's tail is the one dot that makes it a rabbit. It is identical in simplified and traditional Chinese, and the Jade Rabbit lives on the moon in Chinese legend.

兔 tù · rabbit

• 免miǎn — to spare
  • ⺈ — top shape
  • 口kǒu — mouth
    • 冂 — frame
    • 一 — horizontal stroke
  • 儿ér — child
    • 丿 — falling stroke
    • 乚 — hook stroke
• 丶 — dot

How 兔 is used

Before you use it as a tattoo or design: Make sure the small tail dot of 兔 is included, or the character becomes 免 (to avoid).

Questions

Related

• 虎tiger
• 龙dragon
• 月moon
• 猫cat
• 羊goat (sheep)

Full page for 兔 › All characters for words