TraceHanzi

蛛 meaning and stroke order

zhū

Spider

12 strokesRadical 虫
Strokes12
Pinyinzhū
ToneTone 1
Frequency#2,223
Printable worksheet

How to write 蛛, stroke by stroke

12 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 蛛

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

zhūfirst tone (high and level)
  1. (bound form) spider

How 蛛 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Insect.

chónginsect+zhūcinnabar

虫 gives the meaning and 朱 hints at the sound.

Radical: 虫 (insect), shared by 197 characters on this site.

How to remember 蛛

蛛 is a creature 虫 (chóng, bug) on the left with 朱 (zhū) on the right giving the sound. Picture a little bug spinning a red (朱 means vermilion) thread, and you have a spider.

蛛 is a bound form, so it almost never stands alone. It usually appears in 蜘蛛 (zhīzhū, spider) and related words like 蜘蛛网 (zhīzhūwǎng, spider web). Example: 墙角有一个蜘蛛网。(Qiángjiǎo yǒu yí gè zhīzhūwǎng.) There is a spider web in the corner of the wall.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 蛛 (zhū) with its partner 蜘 (zhī) in 蜘蛛 and reverse the order or tones. Remember the word is zhī first, then zhū, and both characters have the 虫 radical on the left.

Common words with 蛛

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
蜘蛛zhīzhūspider
蛛丝马迹zhūsīmǎjìlit. spider's thread and horse track; tiny hints (of a secret)
蜘蛛网zhīzhūwǎngcobweb; spider web
蜘蛛人Zhīzhūrén(coll.) rope access technician; industrial climber; (esp.) high-rise window washer

蛛 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

这zhè栋dòng房fáng里lǐ布bù满mǎn了le蛛zhū网wǎng。
This house is full of spider webs.
这zhè不bú是shì一yī只zhī蜘zhī蛛zhū，而ér是shì一yí个gè怪guài物wù。
This is not a spider, it's a monster!
她tā一yī看kàn到dào蜘zhī蛛zhū就jiù尖jiān叫jiào。
She shrieked whenever she saw a spider.
那nà只zhǐ蜘zhī蛛zhū是shì黑hēi色sè的de。
The spider is black.
箱xiāng子zi里lǐ有yǒu一yī只zhī蜘zhī蛛zhū。
There's a spider in the box.

Questions about 蛛

How many strokes are in 蛛?

蛛 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 蛛 mean?

蛛 (zhū) means spider. A common word with it is 蜘蛛 (zhīzhū), meaning "spider".

How do you pronounce 蛛?

蛛 is pronounced zhū, in the first tone (high and level).

What is the radical of 蛛?

The radical of 蛛 is 虫, which carries the idea of "insect". Dictionaries list 蛛 under this radical.

Can I just say 蛛 to mean spider?

Not usually. In everyday speech you say 蜘蛛 (zhīzhū). 蛛 alone appears mainly inside compounds and set phrases.

What does 蛛丝马迹 mean and when is it used?

蛛丝马迹 (zhūsīmǎjì) literally means spider's thread and horse tracks. It refers to tiny clues or faint traces, often when investigating something hidden, as in 警察没有放过任何蛛丝马迹 (The police did not overlook any clue).