虎 meaning and stroke order
Tiger
How to write 虎, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 8
Meaning of 虎
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- tiger
How 虎 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A tiger 虍 standing on a rock 几; 虍 also provides the pronunciation.
How to remember 虎
The top part 虍 is the tiger's head and stripes, and the bottom 几 is the rock it stands on. Picture a striped tiger 虎 (hǔ) perched on a rock, watching you.
On its own, people usually say 老虎 (lǎohǔ) for tiger, while 虎 appears in compounds and idioms like 狼吞虎咽 (lángtūnhǔyàn). Example: 动物园里有两只老虎。(Dòngwùyuán lǐ yǒu liǎng zhī lǎohǔ.) There are two tigers at the zoo.
Common mistake: In 马虎 (mǎhu) the 虎 loses its third tone and is said lightly, so do not read it as mǎhǔ. Also do not confuse 虎 with 虑 (lǜ, to consider), which shares the 虍 top but has 心 at the bottom.
Common words with 虎
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 马虎 | mǎhu | careless; sloppy | HSK 7-9 |
| 老虎 | lǎohǔ | tiger | |
| 虎鲸 | hǔjīng | orca; killer whale (Orcinus orca) | |
| 猛虎 | měnghǔ | fierce tiger | |
| 马马虎虎 | mǎmahūhū | careless; casual | |
| 狼吞虎咽 | lángtūnhǔyàn | to wolf down one's food (idiom); to devour ravenously; to gorge oneself | |
| 虎视眈眈 | hǔshìdāndān | (lit.) to fix one's eyes on sth like a tiger watching its prey (idiom); (fig.) to eye cove | |
| 母老虎 | mǔlǎohǔ | tigress; (fig.) fierce woman | |
| 老虎机 | lǎohǔjī | slot machine |
虎 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 虎
Learning 虎 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 虎
How many strokes are in 虎?
虎 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 虎 mean?
虎 (hǔ) means tiger. A common word with it is 马虎 (mǎhu), meaning "careless; sloppy".
How do you pronounce 虎?
虎 is pronounced hǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
Is 虎 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 虎 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Why does 马虎 mean careless if it is literally horse tiger?
The meaning does not come from the animals. 马虎 is a set word meaning sloppy or careless, and 马马虎虎 (mǎmahūhū) also means so so, as in 还马马虎虎 for just okay.
What does 虎 mean in the Chinese zodiac?
虎 is the third of the twelve zodiac animals. People born in a Year of the Tiger say 我属虎 (wǒ shǔ hǔ), I was born in the Year of the Tiger.