虫 meaning and stroke order
Insect, worm; mollusk
How to write 虫, stroke by stroke
6 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 4
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- 6
Meaning of 虫
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lower form of animal life, including insects, insect larvae, worms and similar creatures
- (fig.) person with a particular undesirable characteristic
- variant of 蟲|虫[chong2]
How 虫 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character.
中 hints at the sound.
How to remember 虫
The top of 虫 looks like 中 (zhōng), and the data lists 中 as the sound part. Picture a little bug with a body shaped like 中 and a tail curling out at the bottom, crawling along the ground.
On its own, 虫 is usually said as 虫子 (chóngzi) in everyday speech, and it appears in many animal words like 昆虫 (kūnchóng) and 甲虫 (jiǎchóng). It can also describe a person with a bad trait, as in 可怜虫 (kěliánchóng) or 懒虫 (lǎnchóng). Example: 房间里有一只虫子。 (Fángjiān lǐ yǒu yì zhī chóngzi.) There is a bug in the room.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom like 中 plus a separate stroke and forget the final rising stroke and dot that close the shape, so check that the last stroke is a dot on the lower right. Also note the tone: chóng is second tone, not chòng or zhōng.
Common words with 虫
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 虫子 | chóngzi | insect; bug | HSK 4 |
| 昆虫 | kūnchóng | insect | HSK 7-9 |
| 害虫 | hàichóng | injurious insect; pest | HSK 7-9 |
| 寄生虫 | jìshēngchóng | parasite (biology); (fig.) freeloader | |
| 萤火虫 | yínghuǒchóng | firefly; glowworm | |
| 可怜虫 | kěliánchóng | pitiful creature; wretch | |
| 甲虫 | jiǎchóng | beetle | |
| 蠕虫 | rúchóng | worm | |
| 杀虫剂 | shāchóngjì | insecticide; pesticide | |
| 臭虫 | chòuchóng | bedbug (Cimex lectularius); tick | |
| 幼虫 | yòuchóng | (entomology) larva | |
| 毒虫 | dúchóng | poisonous insect (or spider etc); venomous snake; (slang) junkie | |
| 蛀虫 | zhùchóng | insect that eats into wood, books, clothes etc; fig. vermin | |
| 懒虫 | lǎnchóng | (coll.) lazybones |
虫 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 虫
Learning 虫 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 虫
How many strokes are in 虫?
虫 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 虫 mean?
虫 (chóng) means insect, worm; mollusk. A common word with it is 虫子 (chóngzi), meaning "insect; bug".
How do you pronounce 虫?
虫 is pronounced chóng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the traditional form of 虫?
The traditional form of 虫 is 蟲. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 虫 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 虫 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 虫 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Why do so many animal characters contain 虫?
虫 is used as a meaning component in many characters for small creatures, such as 蚊 (wén) mosquito, 蛇 (shé) snake, and 蜂 (fēng) bee. Seeing 虫 in a character is a good hint that it names a bug, worm, or similar animal.
Is 虫 only for insects, or can it mean worms too?
It covers more than insects. 虫 refers broadly to small, lower forms of animal life, including larvae and worms, as in 蠕虫 (rúchóng) worm. For the strict scientific word for insect, people use 昆虫 (kūnchóng).