shih tzu
/ˈʃɪtzuː/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.68 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Alternative letter-case form of Shih Tzu.
Example Sentences
- "In their native land the Pekinese dogs are known as "Shih-Tzu-Kom," which means the "Lion-Dog.""
- "In New York, I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Morgan who showed me their dogs from Pekin. Mr. Morgan has written several articles on Lhasa Apso and Shih Tzu."
- "The Shih Tzu (pronounced Sheed-zoo) has a long, dense, wavy coat that completely hides its legs. Its name means "little lion" in Chinese. Descriptions include "very active, lively and alert, with a distinctly arrogant carriage"; […] Behavior problems may include irritable snapping and touch-shyness, especially when hot. A Shih Tzu may be hard to housebreak."
- "A plucked and stripped terrier, a properly brushed Shih Tzu, or a Standard Poodle in a continental clip with powdered pompoms will turn heads on any sidewalk as well as in the show ring."
- ""And who is your baby?" he asked Jane. / "Stuart Little," she said. "He's a shih tzu." / "We love shih tzus," Uncle Bob said. "Let me show you all the fun things we have for Stuart.""
- "Shih Tzu tend to get along better with other Shih Tzu than other breeds. Maybe it's because they are not threatened by dogs that are around the same size or maybe each dog can sense that the other is part of the same dog family."
Etymology
From the Wade–Giles romanisation shih¹-tzŭ⁵ of Mandarin 獅子 /狮子 (shīzi, “lion”), a contraction of 獅子狗 /狮子狗 (shīzigǒu, literally “lion dog”), from the breed's resemblance to Chinese guardian lion statues. The original Mandarin word now refers only to the Pekingese, while this breed now properly goes by the name 西施犬 (xīshīquǎn, literally “Xi Shi dog”).
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, 獅子
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈʃɪtzuː/
- British English: /ˈʃɪtzuː/
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Synonyms
Chinese lion dog
chrysanthemum dog