tiger, drunkard
虎 centers on the tiger as a fierce, powerful animal. The extended sense of 'drunkard' likely comes from the image of a wild, unrestrained person, like a tiger on a rampage.
虎 is a pictograph of a tiger, with the modern form retaining a stylized head (虍) and legs/tail (儿). The character has represented the animal since ancient times.
The top part 虍 looks like a tiger's fierce head with stripes, and the bottom 儿 suggests its legs and tail. Together they form a tiger ready to pounce.
For コ, imagine a tiger cub (こ) learning to roar. The little cub (こ) helps you remember the reading コ.
tiger (Panthera tigris)
White Tiger (Taoist god said to rule over the western heavens)
fierce tiger; ferocious tiger
vigilantly (watching for an opportunity); eagerly; with an eagle eye
book of (trade) secrets; secrets
tiger cub
Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica); flowering bamboo
tiger's den; jaws of death; dangerous place
Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica); Siberian tiger
mackerel tabby (cat); grey tabby
Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica); Amur tiger
Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
two equal rivals; two tigers
werecat
common bistort (Persicaria bistorta)
one calamity followed close on the heels of another; out of the frying pan into the fire; tiger in front, wolf in the back
between the devil and the deep sea; out of the frying pan into the fire; a tiger at the front gate, a wolf at the back gate
saber-toothed tiger (sabre)
big tiger