虎 (hǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “tiger”. It is written from 虍 (tiger top (radical)) and 几 (small table; how many), one enclosing the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “tiger”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
虍 + 几
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 现代简化字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-5 虍 / 6-7 几）
Memory aid
The striped tiger head (虍) leans out over a low table (几) — the big cat crouched on the furniture, about to spring.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 老虎lǎo hǔtiger虎 = hǔspoken asláo hǔHSK 3
- 虎年hǔ niánYear of the Tiger虎 = hǔ
Go deeper
All readings
tiger
tiger; brave; fierce
老虎，大型猫科猛兽。也用来形容勇猛威武。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 老虎lǎo hǔtiger虎 = hǔspoken asláo hǔHSK 3
- 虎年hǔ niánYear of the Tiger虎 = hǔ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 虎 mean?
虎 (hǔ) means tiger; brave; fierce.
How do you pronounce 虎?
It is pronounced hǔ.
What parts is 虎 made of?
虍 (tiger top (radical)) and 几 (small table; how many), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代简化字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-5 虍 / 6-7 几）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 虎 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 虎?
虍. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 虎?
Common ones are 老虎 and 虎年. The reading of 虎 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.