Dog + black

猜, cāi, to guess, to suspect.

Etymological explanations tell us that the radical on the left 犭, dog or wolf, means suspect like a dog or a wolf. 青 sometimes has the sense of black, it evokes the idea of someone who has a hidden secret. The original meaning was doubt, not to trust. Later, 猜 took on the meaning of guessing.
The connotation of doubt can be found in 猜疑, cāi yí, to suspect.

猜 = 犭+ 青 = suspect like a dog or a wolf + black, secret.

猜, cāi, guess chinese character

Articles on characters :

Radical arrow 矢

Radical child 子

Radical eye 目

Radical heart 心

Radical illness 疒

Radical 巳

Character 青

15 August 2020

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