The kanji 匹 primarily represents a counter for small animals, and sometimes is used for objects, referring to them as single units or pieces. It often conveys the idea of a single creature or item.

・On-yomi (音読み): ヒキ (hiki) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, it is mainly used in compound words.

⚫︎ 犬匹 Translation: One dog (or some number of dogs using this counter) ⚫︎ 猫匹いますか？ Translation: Are there any cats? (using the counter for small animals) ⚫︎ 二匹の魚 Translation: Two fish

The kanji 匹 is a pictograph. It depicts an animal, specifically a horse, with its legs bound together. The original meaning was "horse," but it evolved to function as a general counter for animals, and then for other objects.