foo dog

English

Alternative forms

• fu dog

Etymology

Possibly a Western invention, from Mandarin 福 (fú, “good fortune”) + English dog. There is no similar word in Chinese itself that uses the word 福, but see English foo and Foo. Compare also Chinese 佛 (“Buddha”), pronounced fo or fu in some varieties.

Noun

foo dog (plural foo dogs)

1. A stylized lion statue similar to those usually placed in male and female pairs outside imperial Chinese palaces, tombs, temples, etc.
2. A Pekingese dog.

Synonyms

• (Chinese lion statue): foo lion, guardian lion, stone lion; komainu (Japanese contexts)

Translations

Chinese statue

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 石獅子／石狮子 (zh) (shíshīzi), 石獅／石狮 (zh) (shíshī)

• Finnish: leijonakoira (fi)
• German: Wächterlöwe m
• Japanese: 狛犬 (ja) (komainu)
• Korean: 해태(獬豸) (haetae), 해태(獬廌) (haetae)
• Okinawan: シーサー (shīsā)
• Vietnamese: sư tử đá