Meaning of 虎
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- tiger
Measure word: 隻|只
How to use 虎
On its own, 虎 often appears in idioms, names and the zodiac, while everyday speech usually says 老虎 (lǎohǔ) for tiger. Example: 动物园里有一只老虎。(Dòngwùyuán lǐ yǒu yì zhī lǎohǔ.) There is a tiger at the zoo.
The top part of 虎 (hǔ) looks like a tiger's striped head, and the 几 shape at the bottom suggests the legs of the animal crouching to pounce. Picture a tiger's face peering over its folded legs.
Common mistake: In 马虎 (mǎhu) the 虎 loses its third tone and is read lightly, so learners who say mǎhǔ sound unnatural. Also do not confuse 虎 with 虑 (lǜ, to consider), which has the same top but 心 at the bottom.
虎 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
虎 hǔ · tiger · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 虎.
| 马虎 | mǎhu | careless; sloppy |
| 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 |
Questions about 虎
What does 虎 mean?
虎 (hǔ) means "tiger" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 虎?
虎 is made of 1 character: 虎 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 虎 an HSK word?
Yes. 虎 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 老虎 mean an old tiger?
No. The 老 in 老虎 (lǎohǔ) is just a prefix found in some animal names, like 老鼠 (lǎoshǔ, mouse). 老虎 simply means tiger of any age.
Why does 马马虎虎 mean so-so or careless if it is made of horse and tiger?
The meaning comes from the whole expression, not from the animals. 马马虎虎 (mǎmahūhū) is commonly used to say something is just okay, as in 我的中文马马虎虎 (My Chinese is so-so).