蚌 meaning and stroke order
Oysters, mussels; mother-of-pearl
How to write 蚌, stroke by stroke
10 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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- 10
Meaning of 蚌
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- mussel
- clam
How 蚌 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mollusk.
虫 gives the meaning and 丰 hints at the sound.
Radical: 虫 (insect), shared by 197 characters on this site.
How to remember 蚌
蚌 combines 虫 (creature) on the left with 丰 (fēng) on the right. Picture a small sea creature growing a plump, abundant 丰 pearl inside its shell.
蚌 (bàng) usually refers to freshwater mussels or clams, and it often appears in the word 河蚌 (hébàng, river mussel). It is also famous from the idiom 鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利 (yù bàng xiāng zhēng, yúwēng dé lì), "when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits." Example: 这个蚌里有珍珠。(Zhège bàng lǐ yǒu zhēnzhū.) There is a pearl in this mussel.
Common mistake: Learners often read 蚌 as fēng because of the phonetic part 丰, but the standard reading is bàng with a falling fourth tone. Also, do not confuse it with 蛙 (wā, frog), which has 圭 on the right instead of 丰.
Questions about 蚌
How many strokes are in 蚌?
蚌 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 蚌 mean?
蚌 (bàng) means oysters, mussels; mother-of-pearl.
How do you pronounce 蚌?
蚌 is pronounced bàng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 蚌?
The radical of 蚌 is 虫, which carries the idea of "insect". Dictionaries list 蚌 under this radical.
What is the city 蚌埠 and how is it pronounced?
蚌埠 is a city in Anhui province. In this name 蚌 is read bèng, so the city is Bèngbù, not Bàngbù.
Is 蚌 the same as 牡蛎 or 贝?
Not exactly. 牡蛎 (mǔlì) means oyster, and 贝 (bèi) is a general word for shellfish or shells. 蚌 mainly means mussel or clam, especially freshwater ones.