‘猕猴’ (mí hóu) is a noun referring specifically to the rhesus macaque, a medium-sized Old World monkey native to Asia. The character ‘猕’ (mí) is rarely used alone and appears almost exclusively in this compound; it carries no independent meaning in modern usage but historically relates to primate-like creatures. ‘猴’ (hóu) means ‘monkey’ and is a common, productive morpheme found in many primate-related words (e.g., 猴子, 金丝猴). Together, ‘猕猴’ forms a formal, zoological term — more precise and scientific than the colloquial ‘猴子’, which refers broadly to monkeys in general.

This word appears frequently in biology textbooks, nature documentaries, wildlife conservation reports, and research contexts. It is also used in traditional Chinese medicine (where ‘猕猴骨’ or ‘猕猴脑’ may be mentioned historically, though such uses are now rare and ethically restricted). Unlike ‘猴子’, ‘猕猴’ is not used metaphorically or playfully in everyday speech — you won’t hear it in idioms like ‘猴急’ or casual expressions.