虎 (hǔ): tiger, CL:隻|只
虎 (hǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “tiger.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 虍 (structural) and 几 (structural). It ranks #1082 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 虎 a tiger 虍 standing on a rock 几; 虍 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 虍 (tiger) appears in many related characters such as 虑 (lǜ, to think over), 虚 (xū, emptiness), 虏 (lǔ, prisoner of war).
Definitions
- tiger
- CL:隻|只
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA tiger 虍 standing on a rock 几; 虍 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿸虍几 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 虎 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 虎
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 猛虎 | měng hǔ | fierce tiger |
| 老虎机 | lǎo hǔ jī | slot machine |
| 美洲虎 | měi zhōu hǔ | jaguar |
| 虎视眈眈 | hǔ shì dān dān | lit. to fix one's eyes on sth like a tiger watching its prey (idiom) |
| 虎口 | hǔ kǒu | tiger's den |
| 母老虎 | mǔ lǎo hǔ | tigress |
| 壁虎 | bì hǔ | gecko |
| 虎子 | hǔ zǐ | tiger cub |
| 老虎钳 | lǎo hǔ qián | vise |
| 拦路虎 | lán lù hǔ | stumbling block |
| 虎头蛇尾 | hǔ tóu shé wěi | lit. tiger's head, snake's tail (idiom) |
| 剑齿虎 | jiàn chǐ hǔ | saber-toothed tiger |
| 纸老虎 | zhǐ lǎo hǔ | paper tiger |
| 笑面虎 | xiào miàn hǔ | man with a big smile and evil intentions |
| 狐假虎威 | hú jiǎ hǔ wēi | lit. the fox exploits the tiger's might (idiom) |
虎 appears in 100 compound words: 45 as the first character, 31 as the last, and 24 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 虎 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (36)
to pretend to be ignorant of something in order to gloss it over; to act dumb
to lure an opponent out; to get rid of an opponent or a problem to achieve one's goal
to start off strong, but finish weak; to be inconsistent with one's effort
lit. like stepping on a tiger's tail or spring ice (idiom); fig. extremely dangerous situation
to start off strong, but finish weak; to be inconsistent with one's effort
Showing 12 of 36 idioms containing 虎.
Example Sentences
虎字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。
hǔ zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .
The way the character for "tiger" is written is quite unique and left a deep impression on me.
烟仔虎与烟仔傻傻分不清?曹铭宗抓包转运站画错、...
yān zǐ hǔ yǔ yān zǐ shǎ shǎ fēn bù qīng ? cáo míng zōng zhuā bāo zhuǎn yùn zhàn huà cuò , . . .
Can't tell the difference between a smoker and a smoker? Cao Mingzong grabbed the bag transfer station and drew the wrong 、...
小虎解码:新股改革回顾 ——“大包围”失效 ...
xiǎo hǔ jiě mǎ : xīn gǔ gǎi gé huí gù — — dà bāo wéi shī xiào . . .
Xiaohu decoding: review of IPO reform - "big encirclement" failed ...
小虎鲸屏东搁浅4死 7只获救野放
xiǎo hǔ jīng bǐng dōng gē qiǎn 4 sǐ 7 zhī huò jiù yě fàng
Baby killer whales ran aground in Pingtung, 4 died, and 7 were rescued and released into the wild
龙吟虎啸:美元地位曾经衰落
lóng yín hǔ xiào : měi yuán dì wèi céng jīng shuāi luò
The roar of the dragon and the roar: The status of the dollar has declined
云南虎跳峡—一家三口行未开发地段 8岁童失足堕...
yún nán hǔ tiào xiá — yī jiā sān kǒu háng wèi kāi fā dì duàn 8 suì tóng shī zú duò . . .
Yunnan Tiger Leaping Gorge - A family of three walked in an undeveloped area 8-year-old child stumbled and fell...
心有猛虎，细嗅蔷薇。
Xīn yǒu měng hǔ, xì xiù qiángwēi.
In me the tiger sniffs the rose.
不入虎穴，焉得虎子。
Bùrùhǔxué, yāndéhǔzǐ.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
他真是刚出狼窝又入虎穴。
Tā zhēnshi gāng chū láng wō yòu rù hǔ xué.
He fell out of the frying pan into the fire.
别狼吞虎咽的。你最好细嚼慢咽地吃。
Bié lángtūnhǔyàn de. nǐ zuì hǎo xìjiáomànyàn de chī.
Stop inhaling your food. You should eat a little slower.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 虎 (hǔ)?
Is 虎 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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