How to Write 虒 (sī) — Meaning “A legendary horned tiger.”

Imagine a tiger (虍) wearing two horns like a deer, slowly walking (彳) through an ancient forest. The horns and the slow, majestic step help you recall this is no ordinary tiger—it's a legendary horned beast. Picture the scene: "Si" the horned tiger strolling with dignity.

The top radical 虍 has three strokes: the hook (乛), the horizontal stroke, and the downward stroke that curls left—make sure the hook is small and tight. The lower part 彳 starts with a short left-falling stroke, then a right-falling stroke, and ends with a vertical stroke; beginners often make the two lower strokes too wide or misalign them with the center of the 虍. Keep the overall shape balanced and slightly compact.

虒 has the tiger radical 虍, while 虏 has the radical 虍 as well but includes 力 (strength) below, meaning "to capture" or "prisoner." 虐 also has 虍 but with a claw-like component (⺕) below, meaning "cruel" or "tyranny." Visually, 虒's lower half is 彳 (two slanted strokes), whereas 虏 has 力 (a hook and stroke), and 虐 has a longer, claw-shaped bottom.

虒 is extremely rare in modern Chinese and is not part of the HSK vocabulary. It appears only in ancient place names such as 虒亭 (Siting) and 虒祁 (Siqi), which are historical locations in China. You might encounter it in classical texts or geography discussions about old dynasties, but it is not used in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 虒 include: 虒亭 (sī tíng) — Siting (an ancient place name).; 虒祁 (sī qí) — Siqi (an ancient place name).; 委虒 (wěi sī) — Wei Si (ancient place name).