虍
tiger spots, mottled, tiger or tiger crown radical (no. 141)
Strokes6
Readings
On'yomi
- コ
Kun'yomi
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Meaning
虍 centers on the visual pattern of a tiger's stripes or spots, and by extension mottled markings. It is also used as a radical component in characters related to tigers.
Study
Etymology
虍 is a pictograph of a tiger's head and stripes, representing the tiger's markings. It serves as a radical in characters related to tigers.
Meaning mnemonic
The shape suggests a tiger's head with stripes: the top horizontal stroke is the brow, the left vertical stroke the ear, and the inner strokes the facial markings. Think of a tiger's striped face.
Reading mnemonic
For コ, imagine a tiger cub with spots: cub -> コ, and the cub's coat is mottled like 虍.