How to Write 嚄 (huō) — Meaning “Oh / Wow (exclamation of surprise)”

Picture a person opening their mouth wide (口) in surprise and saying 'Whoa!' — the sound of 嚄 is similar to 'huō', like 'whoa' said quickly. You can also imagine a 'sudden' (霍) noise coming from the mouth, which helps link the shape to the meaning of surprise.

嚄 has 17 strokes, so keep the left 口 small and compact, positioned high on the left side. The right part 霍 has many horizontal strokes — make sure they are parallel and evenly spaced, and the bottom 隹 section should be slightly wider than the top 雨. Common mistakes include making the 口 too large or the 霍 part too narrow.

嘬 (chuài, meaning to suck or eat greedily) has the same mouth radical but the right side is 最 (meaning 'most'), so it looks different and has a different reading. 嘭 (pēng, meaning a loud bang) also uses 口 but has 彭 on the right — it sounds like an explosion, not a surprise exclamation. Unlike these, 嚄 specifically conveys a sudden, amazed reaction.

嚄 is very rare in modern everyday Chinese and mostly appears in classical texts or idioms, such as 嚄唶宿将 (a loud and brave veteran general). You might encounter it in literary works to show dramatic surprise, but it is not used in casual conversation. It is considered a more literary or archaic exclamation.

Common words containing 嚄 include: 嚄 (huō) — Oh / Wow (exclamation of surprise); 嚄唶 (huō zé) — Shouting / Blustering; 嚄唶宿将 (huō zé sù jiàng) — A loud and brave veteran general.