虍

Tiger Radical (虍)

hū · 6 strokes

The tiger radical (虍) is a radical found in Chinese. It appears in 6 characters related to tiger and associated concepts. 6 characters: 2 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 7-9. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system. Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (CLEC 2022 syllabus).

Radical vs. Component: 虍 is also a character component. As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For component-specific details including role analysis and position patterns, see the Tiger Component (虍) page.

Tiger Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count6
Total Characters6
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (3 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes9
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Tiger Radical Characters

HSK 4 (2 characters)

虑lǜto think over虎hǔtiger

HSK 5 (1 characters)

虚xūemptiness

HSK 7-9 (3 characters)

虏lǔprisoner of war虐nüè(bound form) brutal虔qiánto act with reverence

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the tiger radical mean in Chinese characters?
The tiger radical (虍) signals a semantic connection to tiger-related concepts. When you see 虍 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves tiger or associated ideas. It appears in 6 characters in the HSK character set. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system, the traditional standard for organizing Chinese characters.
How many characters use the tiger radical?
There are 6 characters with the tiger radical (虍) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental tiger-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common tiger radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the tiger radical (虍) are: 虑 (lǜ, "to think over"), 虚 (xū, "emptiness"), 虎 (hǔ, "tiger"), 虏 (lǔ, "prisoner of war"), 虐 (nüè, "(bound form) brutal"). These high-frequency characters are among the first tiger-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include tiger radical characters?
Characters with the tiger radical (虍) appear across 3 HSK levels: 2 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 3 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common tiger-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Radical classifications on this page follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首), the standard set of 214 radicals codified in the Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, 1716). Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准》), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022 revision.