Chinese character 虒

An old Chinese dictionary character for a horned, tiger-like creature.

《說文解字》, an early Chinese character dictionary, describes 委虒 as a tiger with a horn. 《廣韻》, a later dictionary arranged by pronunciation and rhyme, says it could travel through water. These are historical glosses, not a usual modern word for “tiger.”

What is the history of 虒?

Its earliest securely identified use was in names, not as an animal label. A 2011 paleography study—a study of ancient writing—identifies 虒 in Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, texts on bronze vessels, as a personal or place name. Later examples appear on Qin- and Han-era slips, narrow pieces of bamboo or wood used for writing, and on seals.

The old creature gloss led to other historical uses. 《說文解字》 names the horned tiger; 《廣韻》 adds that it could travel through water. Classical writing uses 虒祁 as a name, and records preserve 虒 in place names such as 綿虒 and 虒亭. 虒 includes 虎, “tiger,” as a component; 禠 and 榹 use 虒 as a sound component. These are structural links, not interchangeable words.

As of 2026, one study describes 虒 as a lexical fossil: it is no longer a productive everyday word in Mandarin and survives mainly in place names or specialist use. A writer can revive it in a poem, but that is deliberate literary reuse, not an established everyday meaning.

What does it mean when someone sends 虒?

As of 2026, a lone 虒 has no established chat-reaction meaning. Treat it as an unusual word or quotation, then ask which name or passage it belongs to; the surrounding words decide how to read it.

In a discussion of a place name or classical passage, it is precise. In casual chat, it reads as deliberately bookish, and the recipient may not know what response is expected.