[quote=“FrankInTaipei”]is there a chinese character for “boar” that you are aware of, sir?[/quote]I’m the last person you should ask about Chinese. Maybe, gongzhu 公豬 is closer to “boar”, it’s not a single character though.
Some translations pick the male version of the animal. For what reasons, I don’t know. So instead of “Year of the Pig”, you get “Year of the Boar”; instead of “Year of the Chicken”, you get “Year of the Rooster”. The Chinese word “zhu” is not sex specific, thus, “pig” is the more appropriate translation.
I think definition 1.a. answers your question. You must be thinking of definition 2. In that case, the Chinese term would be 野豬, literally “wild pig”.
American Heritage Dictionary
boar (bôr, bōr)
n.
1 a. An uncastrated male pig.
b. The adult male of any of several mammals, such as the beaver, raccoon, or guinea pig.
2. The wild boar.
There is probably such a character, based on my experience with rare and obsolete characters. Finding that character is another matter. I’ll have a looksee later.
There is probably such a character, based on my experience with rare and obsolete characters. Finding that character is another matter. I’ll have a looksee later.[/quote]
If the definition is a male pig, then the Chinese character for that is
豭
(jia1).
If the definition is a wild boar, then the character for pig
豬
(zhu1) can work as it encompasses all pig-like creatures although you’d want to prefix it with a
野
(ye3, wild) for clarity. Other alternatives are
豦
(qu2) or
[豕軍]
(jun4, a small wild pig/boar, 康熙字典:小野豕). Else, you can use
獾
(huan1) for strong, short and stumpy creatures which includes the wild boar.