How to Write 琥 (hǔ) — Meaning “Amber (component of 琥珀)”

Picture a tiger (虎) holding a piece of amber (a golden jewel) in its paw, with the jade radical (王) reminding you that amber is a gemstone. This combines the tiger shape and the jade meaning to form the character 琥.

Keep the left side (王) narrow and the right side (虎) balanced so the character is not too wide. A common mistake is to write the tiger component too big, so make sure the strokes of 虎 fit neatly beside the jade radical.

琥 (amber) uses the tiger component and is only found in words like 琥珀 (amber), while 珙 (gǒng) is a rare jade name and 珞 (luò) refers to a jade ornament, often used in 璎珞 (Buddhist necklace). The key visual difference is the right side: 虎 (tiger) for 琥, 共 (together) for 珙, and 各 (each) for 珞.

琥 is almost exclusively used in the word 琥珀 (hǔ pò, amber) and related words like 琥珀色 (amber color) or 琥珀项链 (amber necklace). Amber has cultural value in China as a traditional gemstone, often associated with warmth and healing in folk beliefs.

Common words containing 琥 include: 琥珀 (hǔ pò) — Amber; 琥珀色 (hǔ pò sè) — Amber color; 琥珀项链 (hǔ pò xiàng liàn) — Amber necklace.