猎犬

• Pinyin: liè quǎn
• Hanzi breakdown: 猎 = 犭 + 巤 (hunt — a dog pursuing wild game); 犬 = 大 + 丶 (dog — a person-shaped animal with a distinctive mark)

Meaning

Hunting dog; hound. A dog bred and trained for tracking, chasing, or retrieving game during hunting.

Refers literally to dogs used in hunting, known for their keen sense of smell, speed, or retrieving ability. Metaphorically, 猎犬 can describe someone who relentlessly pursues targets — used in investigative journalism, intelligence, or competitive contexts. The term appears in both classical and modern texts on hunting culture and nature.

Examples

1. 训练有素的猎犬能在复杂地形中追踪猎物长达数小时，展现出惊人的耐力与嗅觉。 A well-trained hound can track prey for hours across difficult terrain, showing astonishing endurance and a keen sense of smell.
2. 他饲养了一批优质猎犬，每逢秋冬季节便携犬入山进行传统狩猎活动。 He raises a group of high-quality hunting dogs and takes them into the mountains each fall and winter for traditional hunts.
3. 警方派出经过专业训练的猎犬搜寻失踪者，在茂密的丛林中展开地毯式搜索。 Police deployed specially trained dogs to search for the missing person, conducting a grid search through the dense forest.

Usage Guide

Context: hunting, animal training, nature writing, metaphor

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这批从欧洲引进的猎犬嗅觉极为灵敏，能够辨别数百种不同的气味痕迹。(These hunting dogs imported from Europe have an extraordinarily keen sense of smell and can distinguish hundreds of different scent traces.)
• 记者以'猎犬'自比，形容自己对重大新闻线索锲而不舍的追踪精神。(The journalist compared himself to a hunting hound, describing his relentless pursuit of major news leads.)

Don't Say

• 将'猎犬'泛指所有类型的工作犬 — 猎犬专指用于狩猎的犬只，警犬、导盲犬等各有专名，不可混用

Origin & History

猎 (to hunt — pursuing wild animals) + 犬 (dog — the domesticated canine, often trained for specific tasks)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal