The kanji 獣 primarily represents "beast," "animal," or "wild animal." It refers to creatures, particularly mammals, that are not domesticated and live in the wild. It emphasizes the untamed, animalistic nature of these creatures.

・On-yomi (音読み): ・ジュウ (jū) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ・けもの (kemono) - animal, beast

⚫︎ 獣医 Translation: veterinarian, vet ⚫︎ 獣肉 Translation: game meat, animal meat ⚫︎ 猛獣 Translation: beast of prey, ferocious animal

The kanji 獣 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). It is comprised of two parts: a radical and a phonetic component. The radical is 犬 (inu), meaning "dog." The phonetic component is 寿 (kotobuki, which means "longevity" or "celebration" in other contexts, but its sound is used here). The combination suggests an animal that is dog-like (from 犬) and has life (from the sound of 寿). Therefore, 獣 conveys the general meaning of animals, especially wild animals, which are dog-like animals.