How to Write 嘶 (sī) — Meaning “to hiss; to neigh; to roar”

Imagine a horse (the sound 嘶 often describes a horse's neigh) opening its mouth (口) wide and yelling "Ssss!" — the "斯" part phonetically reminds you of the "s" hiss sound. This picture helps link the radical and the sound to the meaning.

Write the left radical 口 small and high, then the right side 斯: start with 其 (two horizontal lines, then a vertical line down the middle), then write 斤 below. Be careful that the right side is balanced and not too wide; overall the character is slightly taller than wide.

㕡 (hè) means a gully or ravine and has a completely different meaning — it is not a sound character. 喿 (zào) means to chatter or make noise, and while both involve mouth sounds, 嘶 specifically refers to a harsh, breathy sound like hissing or a horse's neigh, not general chattering.

You will see 嘶 in words like 嘶吼 (to roar) for loud shouting, 嘶嘶 (hissing sound) for snakes or steam, and 嘶哑 (hoarse) for a rough voice. It is a more literary or descriptive character, not used in everyday conversation but common in stories or descriptions of animal sounds.

Common words containing 嘶 include: 嘶吼 (sī hǒu) — to roar; to howl; 嘶嘶 (sī sī) — hissing sound; 嘶哑 (sī yǎ) — hoarse; husky.