How to Write 嗬 (hē) — Meaning “Hey or Oh (exclamation of surprise).”

Imagine someone opening their mouth wide (口) and shouting "HEY!" because they see something harsh (苛, which means harsh). The right side 苛 looks like a person with a grass hat making a surprised sound, helping you recall "he" as in "Hey!".

Write the left radical 口 first (3 strokes), then the right part 苛: start with 艹 (horizontal, vertical, vertical — 3 strokes), then 可 (horizontal, then the 口 box, then vertical hook — 5 strokes). A common mistake is making the left 口 too large or misaligning the 艹 strokes; keep the mouth small and centered.

嗬 is an exclamation, while 唪 means to chant or recite loudly — they are used in very different contexts. Visually, 嗬 has 口 on the left and 苛 on the right; 㕡 is a rare character often referring to a deep ditch, and 唪 has 奉 on the right instead of 苛. The meanings and shapes are clearly distinct.

嗬 is used as an interjection for surprise, like "Hey!" or "Oh!" in English, often in comics, novels, or informal exclamations. It appears in common reduplicated forms like 嗬哟 (hē yō) to express effort or sudden shock, but it's less frequent in everyday speech and more common in written or dramatic contexts.

Common words containing 嗬 include: 嗬 (hē) — Hey or Oh (exclamation of surprise).; 嗬哟 (hē yō) — Yo or Wow (exclamation of surprise or effort).; 嗬呀 (hē ya) — Wow or Oh (exclamation of surprise)..