骇 (hài) is a Chinese character meaning “to be startled or shocked”. It is written from 马 (horse) and 亥 (the twelfth Earthly Branch), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to be shocked; to frighten”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
马 + 亥
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 駭，驚也。从馬亥聲；IDS 拆分 ⿰马亥，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「马」，笔画 3–8 与「亥」逐笔对应（3+6=9 画）
Memory aid
A horse (马) rears up in fright; 亥 (hài) on the right gives the sound: hài. A startled horse — that is what shocked looks like.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 惊骇jīng hàishocked; terrified骇 = hài
- 骇人听闻hài rén tīng wénshocking; appalling (literally: to shock those who hear of it)骇 = hài
Go deeper
All readings
to be shocked; to frighten
to be startled or shocked; to frighten; shocking
惊吓；震惊；使人害怕。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 惊骇jīng hàishocked; terrified骇 = hài
- 骇人听闻hài rén tīng wénshocking; appalling (literally: to shock those who hear of it)骇 = hài
Sound component
亥 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 骇 mean?
骇 (hài) means to be startled or shocked; to frighten; shocking.
How do you pronounce 骇?
It is pronounced hài.
What parts is 骇 made of?
马 (horse) and 亥 (the twelfth Earthly Branch), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 駭，驚也。从馬亥聲；IDS 拆分 ⿰马亥，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「马」，笔画 3–8 与「亥」逐笔对应（3+6=9 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 骇 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 骇?
马. 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 骇?
Common ones are 惊骇 and 骇人听闻. The reading of 骇 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.