獺

A phono-semantic compound composed of:

犬 (dog; beast) — semantic component, a general classifier for mammals and wild animals;

賴 (to rely on) — phonetic component, supplies the sound "lai / dal" and may suggest persistence or tenacity.

The structure identifies a specific mammal, distinguished from land animals by later semantic specialization rather than by the radical itself.

In some pre-modern or non-technical contexts, the term could loosely overlap with other small carnivorous mammals, leading to occasional glosses such as “너구리 (raccoon),” though zoologically this is imprecise.

수달 (水獺) — otter

해달 (海獺) — sea otter

獺 belongs to the broader animal-with-犬-radical group:

犬 — dog; beast (classifier)

狸 — raccoon dog

狐 — fox

狼 — wolf

熊 — bear

猿 — monkey

Among these, 獺 represents a semi-aquatic mammal, bridging land and water domains.

Idiomatic & cultural notes:

The character carries neutral to positive connotations, often associated with agility and cleverness.

獺祭 (달제) — “otter’s offering”

Refers to the otter’s habit of laying out caught fish on riverbanks, as if performing a ritual offering.

By extension, it came to mean:

- excessive display of literary sources;

- meticulous or pedantic scholarship.

This idiom appears in classical Chinese literature and survives in Japanese cultural usage (e.g., names of sake brands).

Classical / literary usage:

獺祭魚 — “The otter lays out fish (as offerings)”

學者如獺祭 — “A scholar who piles up sources like an otter’s offerings”

㺚 — variant character associated with 獺

It is structurally related to the 犬 (animal) radical group and represents an early or non-standard written form used before the standardization of 獺.

Unlike 獺, which is a clear phono-semantic compound (犬 + 賴), 㺚 reflects graphic simplification or regional variation rather than an independent etymological formation.

㺚 appears in ancient dictionaries, manuscripts, or variant-character lists.