Chinese character 虖

It can mean a tiger’s roar or mark an old exclamation.

The earliest evidence for the graph is in early Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, where it appears especially in 烏虖. By the Spring and Autumn period, a form with added 口 is associated with the exclamation later written 嗚呼.

《說文解字》, an early Chinese dictionary, glosses 虖 as 哮虖, a tiger’s roar, and analyzes it as 虍 plus 乎. The same graph also served as a historical variant of 乎; dictionaries record an exclamatory use associated with 呼. In 烏虖 and 嗚虖, it functions as an exclamation such as “oh” or “alas,” not a literal animal sound.

What does 虖 mean when someone sends it?

Treat it as historical Chinese text, not a standalone reaction.

If it arrives alone, ask for the surrounding sentence or source. It may be an exclamation, the dictionary gloss, or part of a historical name; the character by itself does not tell you which.

Writing 虖 in an ordinary chat signals deliberate old-style spelling or specialist knowledge. It fits a quotation, transcription, or discussion of historical Chinese; for an everyday message, use the common form you intend.