猛 means “ferocious, fierce”

もう · mou

Also: rave, rush, become furious

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

モウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 11 strokes

The story

A wild dog (犭) beside 孟, the eldest son: picture the biggest of the litter, all teeth. 猛 is ferocious: a 猛獣 is a beast of prey, 猛烈 is furious, and on a 猛暑日 the thermometer reaches 35°C.

Used in 猛暑 (mousho, fierce heat), 猛烈 (mouretsu, furious/intense), and 猛獣 (moujuu, beast of prey)

More from Bold & Fierce

• 冒 risk
• 烈 fierce
• 剛 sturdy
• 酷 cruel
• 壮 robust
• 敢 daring
• 激 intense
• 厳 strict
• 堅 firm
• 豪 mighty

Learn 猛 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.