How to Write 觳 (hú) — Meaning “ancient measure; to tremble”

Picture a horn (角) being hit by a weapon (殳) — it shakes and trembles. That trembling action is 觳 (hú). You can also remember that both parts together look like a horn being 'hulled' or shaken loose.

The left side 角 has 7 strokes; be careful to write the hook at the bottom right of 角 properly. The right side 殳 has 4 strokes — start with a left-falling stroke, then horizontal, then a right-falling stroke, and finish with a left-falling dot. The character is left-right balanced, but don't make the two sides too wide apart.

觳 has 殳 on the right and means 'to tremble' or an ancient measure. 觯 has 只 on the right and refers to an ancient wine vessel. 觱 has 必 on the right and is an ancient horn instrument. Visually, 觳's right part looks like a hand with a weapon, while the others use simpler components.

觳 is very rare in modern Chinese and appears mostly in classical texts. The word 觳觫 (hú sù) means 'to tremble with fear' and is famously used in Mencius to describe a cow shivering before sacrifice. You will not need it in daily conversation, but it appears in literary or historical contexts.

Common words containing 觳 include: 觳觫 (hú sù) — to tremble with fear; 觳抵 (hú dǐ) — ancient wrestling or combat game.