狮

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(bound form) lion

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

犭 meaning “animal” + 师 sound ( shī )

Components 犭师

lion · Heisig RSH #413

师 teacher + pack of wild dogs

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
狮子大开口	shī zi dà kāi kǒu	(saying) (fig.) to make an exorbitant demand; to ask for an outrageously high price
人头狮身	rén tóu shī shēn	sphinx
狮心王理查	Shī xīn wáng Lǐ chá	Richard the Lionheart (1157-1199), King Richard I of England 1189-1199
狮身人面像	shī shēn rén miàn xiàng	sphinx
雪山狮子旗	xuě shān shī zi qí	Snow lion banner, banned flag of Tibetan independence movement, featuring mythological Sno…
狮子山	Shī zi shān	(Tw) Sierra Leone
狮子头	shī zi tóu	large meatball ("lion's head")
石狮子	shí shī zi	guardian lion, a lion statue traditionally placed at the entrance of Chinese imperial pala…
石狮市	Shí shī Shì	Shishi, a county-level city in Quanzhou City 泉州市[Quan2 zhou1 Shi4], Fujian
狮头石竹	shī tóu shí zhú	grenadine; carnation; clove pink; Dianthus caryophyllus (botany)
河东狮	Hé dōng shī	shrew; see also 河東獅吼\|河东狮吼[He2 dong1 shi1 hou3]
狮子林园	Shī zi Lín Yuán	Lion Grove Garden in Suzhou, Jiangsu, one of the Classical Gardens of Suzhou, a UNESCO Wor…
狮子座	Shī zi zuò	Leo (constellation and sign of the zodiac)
小狮座	Xiǎo shī zuò	Leo Minor (constellation)
狮子狗	shī zi gǒu	Pekingese; Pekinese
美洲狮	Měi zhōu shī	cougar; mountain lion; puma
狮子	Shī zǐ	Leo (star sign); Shihtzu township in Pingtung County 屏東縣\|屏东县[Ping2 dong1 Xian4], Taiwan
狮子	shī zi	lion; CL:隻\|只[zhi1],頭\|头[tou2]
山狮	shān shī	mountain lion
海狮	hǎi shī	sea lion

Characters sharing the sound component 师 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
师 sound part	shī	teacher, professional, master
筛	shāi	screen, sieve; to filter, to sift
浉	shī	a river in Henan province
蛳	sī	a snail with a spiral shell