虫

See also: 蟲

虫 U+866B, 虫 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-866B ← 虪 [U+866A] CJK Unified Ideographs 虬 → [U+866C]

Contents

TranslingualEdit

Stroke order

Han characterEdit

虫 (radical 142, 虫+0, 6 strokes, cangjie input 中一戈 (LMI), four-corner 5013₆, composition ⿱中⿰㇀丶)

1. Kangxi radical #142, ⾍.

Derived charactersEdit

• Index:Chinese radical/虫
• 強, 虹, 蚌, 蚯, 蛐, 蛻, 蜀, 蜂, 蜇, 蜥, 蝗, 蝠, 蝴, 蟄, 蟬, 蟲, 蟹, 蠍, 蠟, 蠣, 蠶

ReferencesEdit

• KangXi: page 1076, character 19
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 32804
• Dae Jaweon: page 1545, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 4, page 2833, character 1
• Unihan data for U+866B

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ChineseEdit

Glyph originEdit

A venomous snake, from which this character originated.

Historical forms of the character 虫
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script

Characters in the same phonetic series (兀) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
虺	*hŋuːl, *hŋruːl, *hŋlulʔ
豗	*hŋuːl
鼿	*hŋuːl, *ŋuːd
虫	*hŋlulʔ
髡	*ŋ̊ʰuːn
軏	*ŋod, *ŋuːd
扤	*ŋod, *ŋuːd
兀	*ŋuːd
杌	*ŋuːd
屼	*ŋuːd
矹	*ŋluːd

Pictogram (象形): a snake.

The character originally represented a type of venomous snake, while the derivative 蟲 represented worms and insects (or insect-like things). 虫 was later borrowed for 蟲 (possibly via simplification), and the character 虺 was created to represent the original meaning.

Etymology 1Edit

For pronunciation and definitions of 虫 – see 蟲 (“insect; bug; animal; etc.”). (This character, 虫, is the simplified and variant form of 蟲.)

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Etymology 2Edit

For pronunciation and definitions of 虫 – see 虺 (“venomous snake; sick; ambitionless”). (This character, 虫, is an ancient form of 虺.)

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JapaneseEdit

Shinjitai	虫
Kyūjitai	蟲

KanjiEdit

虫

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 蟲)

1. insect, bug

ReadingsEdit

As shinjitai kanji "虫" (insect):

• Goon: じゅう (jū)^{←ぢゆう (dyū, historical)}
• Kan’on: ちゅう (chū, Jōyō)^{←ちゆう (tyū, historical)}
• Kun: むし (mushi, 虫, Jōyō)
• Nanori: む (mu)

CompoundsEdit

Compounds

• 益虫 (えきちゅう) (ekichū): beneficial insect
• 害虫 (がいちゅう) (gaichū): harmful insect
• 寄 (き)生 (せい)虫 (ちゅう) (kiseichū): parasite
• 毛虫 (けむし) (kemushi): caterpillar
• 甲 (こう)虫 (ちゅう) (kōchū): beetle
• 昆 (こん)虫 (ちゅう) (konchū): insect
• 座頭虫 (ざとうむし) (zatōmushi): harvestman
• 蠕 (ぜん)虫 (ちゅう) (zenchū): worm
• 泣 (な)き虫 (むし) (nakimushi): crybaby
• 鋏虫 (はさみむし) (hasamimushi): earwig; maritime earwig
• 爬虫類 (はちゅうるい) (hachūrui): reptiles
• 虫食 (むしく)い (mushikui): worm-eaten
• 虫酸 (むしず) (mushizu): heartburn
• 虫歯 (むしば) (mushiba): a bad tooth, dental caries, a cavity
• 虫眼鏡 (むしめがね) (mushimegane): magnifying glass
• 幼 (よう)虫 (ちゅう) (yōchū): larva
• 弱虫 (よわむし) (yowamushi): weakling
• 油虫 (あぶらむし) (aburamushi): cockroach

KanjiEdit

虫

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

ReadingsEdit

As character component "虫":

• Goon: け (ke)^{←け (ke, historical)←くゑ (kwe, ancient)}
• Kan’on: き (ki)^{←き (ki, historical)←くゐ (kwi, ancient)}

EtymologyEdit

Kanji in this term
虫
むし Grade: 1
kun’yomi

PronunciationEdit

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) むし [mùshí] (Heiban – [0])
  • IPA^(key): [mɯ̟ᵝɕi]

NounEdit

虫 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 蟲, hiragana むし, katakana ムシ, rōmaji mushi)

1. an insect, a bug, a worm
2. a serpent, a snake

   獅 (し)子 (し)身 (しん)中 (ちゅう)の虫 (むし)

   shishi shinchū no mushi

   a serpent in a lion

3. (figuratively): a worm; a person living for only one thing

   本 (ほん)の虫 (むし)

   hon no mushi

   a bookworm

4. (derogatory): a worm; a despicable person

   泣 (な)き虫 (むし)

   nakimushi

   a sobbing worm; a blubberer

5. a temperament; thought which is in the deep in mind

   癇 (かん)の虫 (むし)

   kan no mushi

   a choleric temperament

SynonymsEdit

• (insect): 昆 (こん)虫 (ちゅう) (konchū)
• (serpent): 蛇 (へび) (hebi)

Related termsEdit

• (serpent): 蝮 (まむし) (mamushi, “viper”)

ReferencesEdit