How to Write 嚆 (hāo) — Meaning “Sound of a whistle / To call out”

Picture a mouth (口) in a field of wormwood (蒿, a tall grass). When the wind blows through the grass, it makes a whistling "hao" sound. This links the mouth to the sound of wind in the plant.

Start with the left radical 口 (3 strokes), then write the right part 蒿: first the grass radical 艹 on top, then 高 below. A common mistake is to forget the 口 or to write 高 without the grass top. Total 16 strokes: 3 for 口 and 13 for 蒿.

Ɂ (㕡) is a rare variant character with no common meaning today. 嗽 (sòu) means 'to cough' and has a different right component (束 or 欶). In contrast, 嚆 specifically indicates a loud shout or the sound of a whistle, and its right side is 蒿 (wormwood), not 束.

Ɂ is not in HSK and appears mostly in classical or literary texts. The word 嚆矢 (hāo shǐ) originally meant a whistling arrow used in warfare to signal an attack, and today it is a metaphor for a 'harbinger' or 'beginning'. You will rarely encounter it in daily conversation.

Common words containing 嚆 include: 嚆矢 (hāo shǐ) — Whistling arrow / Harbinger / Beginning; 嚆呼 (hāo hū) — To shout / To cry out; 嚆嚆 (hāo hāo) — Sound of wind or whistling.