How to Write 猇 (xiāo) — Meaning “roar of a tiger”

Imagine a tiger (虎) opening its mouth to let out a loud roar — the left radical 犭 reminds you it is an animal sound. The pinyin xiāo also sounds like "shout," which matches the idea of a fierce call.

Pay attention to the hook in the right part 虎: the second stroke after the horizontal is a curved hook (竖弯钩), not a straight line. Also keep the left radical slim and the right side slightly wider so the character stays balanced.

猇 means "tiger's roar" and uses the tiger component 虎, while 狠 means "cruel" or "fierce" with the phonetic 艮. 狊 is a rare ancient character for a type of dog; visually 猇 has 虎 inside, whereas 狠 has 艮 and 狊 has 目 instead of 虎.

猇 is not a common character today, but it appears in the place name 猇亭 (Xiāotíng) in Hubei, China. It also appears in classical literature to describe a tiger's roar or a fierce, roaring sound, carrying a sense of wild power.

Common words containing 猇 include: 猇亭 (xiāo tíng) — Xiaoting (a place name); 猇呼 (xiāo hū) — to roar; 猇然 (xiāo rán) — roaringly / fiercely.