萤 meaning and stroke order
Firefly, glow-worm
How to write 萤, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 萤
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- firefly
- glow-worm
How 萤 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Insect.
虫 gives the meaning.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 萤
Picture a small insect 虫 (chóng) resting under a cover 冖 in the grass 艹 at night, glowing softly. Grass on top, insect at the bottom: a firefly in a summer field.
萤 (yíng) rarely appears alone in modern speech. It is almost always used in the word 萤火虫 (yínghuǒchóng), firefly. Example: 夏天晚上有很多萤火虫。(Xiàtiān wǎnshang yǒu hěn duō yínghuǒchóng.) There are lots of fireflies on summer nights.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 萤 (yíng) with 莹 (yíng, lustrous, like jade) and 营 (yíng, camp). All three share the top 艹 and 冖 and the same sound, so look at the bottom part: 虫 for the insect, 玉 for jade, 吕 for camp.
Common words with 萤
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 萤火虫 | yínghuǒchóng | firefly; glowworm |
萤 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 萤
How many strokes are in 萤?
萤 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 萤 mean?
萤 (yíng) means firefly, glow-worm. A common word with it is 萤火虫 (yínghuǒchóng), meaning "firefly; glowworm".
How do you pronounce 萤?
萤 is pronounced yíng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 萤?
The radical of 萤 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 萤 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 萤?
The traditional form of 萤 is 螢. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 萤 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
What does 萤光 or 荧光 mean, and which one is correct?
The standard word for fluorescence is 荧光 (yíngguāng), written with 火 at the bottom, as in 荧光笔 (yíngguāngbǐ), highlighter pen. 萤光 with 萤 is sometimes used for the glow of fireflies, but 荧光 is the usual form for fluorescent things.
Why does 萤火虫 include 火 (fire)?
萤火虫 literally means 'glowing fire insect'. The 火 (huǒ) describes the light the insect gives off, and 虫 (chóng) marks it as a bug, so the word paints a simple picture of a bug carrying a little flame.