狗
gǒu · HSK 2
dog
🐕 狗 = 犭(dog radical) + 句; the 犭 marks four-legged animals
The left side 犭 is the 'dog/beast' radical found in many animal characters (猫 cat, 狼 wolf). The right side 句 (jù) is a phonetic hint, close to the sound gǒu.
狗 — dog radical 犭 + 句 (phonetic)
狗 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 犭 is the 'dog' radical (a compressed form of 犬), signaling the meaning category of animals, especially dogs. The right side 句 (gōu/jù) supplies the sound. Originally 犬 referred to dogs generally, while 狗 came to be the everyday word for dog.