唬

Mandarin · pinyin hǔ

Meanings

  1. a tiger's roar
  2. to scare
  3. to intimidate
  4. (coll.) to fool
  5. to bluff
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

唬
hǔ · to intimidate; to scare
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3 · hu3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link8same-tone records
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

唬 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

fu2 · haak3

Cantonese word readings for 唬. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

  1. angry voice of tiger

character · Etymology 2

  1. voice of bird

character · Etymology 4

  1. (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 嚇 /吓 (“to frighten”)

character · Etymology 5

  1. to frighten or to fool

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack