犭

quan

dog

Used only in combination with other characters to replace dog “犬” or to symbolize a small dog-sized animal.

者 / 读者 / 记者

zhe / duzhe / jizhe

the one who

(read)-er, (journal)-ist 

old  [lao] + sun (ri)

an old experienced person uses the sun-period for his daily ritual job

猪

zhu

pig, hog

dog [quan] + old (zhe)

a dog-like beast which is one of the oldest domesticated  animal is a pig

虫

chong

worm; insect

Symbolizes a snake coiled up on the ground. Used to describe any insects, long or short.

独

du

alone, sole, unique

independent

a dog (犭) with a tapeworm (虫) in its intestines suffers alone