How to Write 虖 (hū) — Meaning “To roar; to shout (archaic).”

Picture a tiger (虍) opening its mouth wide and shouting "Hū!" (乎) — the sound of a deep roar. The visual of a tiger's head above the exclamation mark helps link the shape to the meaning of roaring.

Start with the tiger radical 虍, making sure the hook stroke is clear and not too short. Then write 乎 underneath with balanced proportions — the top and bottom halves should be similar in height, and the 乎 part must not become too wide or slanted.

虖 has 乎 (exclamation) below the tiger radical, meaning 'to roar'. 虐 has a claw-like component below and means 'cruel' or 'abuse'. 虑 has 心 (heart) below and means 'to consider' or 'anxiety'. The bottom parts clearly distinguish their meanings.

虖 is an archaic character rarely used today, except in classical texts or set phrases like 呜虖 (wū hū), meaning 'alas'. You may encounter it in ancient poetry or historical writings, but it is not part of the HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 虖 include: 呜虖 (wū hū) — alas (archaic exclamation); 虖啸 (hū xiào) — To roar; to howl.; 虖尔 (hū ěr) — An archaic exclamation..