Zi Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Rabbit (tù) Page 1083, Entry 02 According to the Extensive Rhyme (Guangyun), it is pronounced nou. According to the Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), it is pronounced nou, and the pronunciation is the same as that for a female sheep. The commentary to the Erudite Essays: Explaining Beasts (Erya Shishou zhu) states that in the regions east of the Yangtze River, a rabbit is called [the character]. In the Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), [the character] is sometimes written in the variant form nou, and also written as the variant form er. Currently, it is incorrectly written with the form derived from the character for exempt (mian). The character nou is derived from the character for exempt (mian).