蜘 meaning and stroke order
Spider
How to write 蜘, stroke by stroke
14 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 蜘
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- used in 蜘蛛[zhi1 zhu1]
How 蜘 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Insect.
虫 gives the meaning and 知 hints at the sound.
Radical: 虫 (insect), shared by 197 characters on this site.
How to remember 蜘
蜘 is a pictophonetic character: 虫 (chóng, insect or bug) on the left gives the meaning, and 知 (zhī, to know) on the right gives the sound. Picture a clever bug that seems to know exactly where to spin its web.
蜘 almost never appears alone. It is used in 蜘蛛 (zhīzhū), the everyday word for spider, and in words built on it 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 the two syllables of 蜘蛛. 蜘 (zhī) has 知 on the right, while 蛛 (zhū) has 朱 on the right, so the vowels i and u follow the phonetic parts. Also remember 知 here sounds zhī with first tone, the same as in 知道 (zhīdào).
Common words with 蜘
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
蜘 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 蜘
How many strokes are in 蜘?
蜘 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 蜘 mean?
蜘 (zhī) means spider. A common word with it is 蜘蛛 (zhīzhū), meaning "spider".
How do you pronounce 蜘?
蜘 is pronounced zhī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 蜘?
The radical of 蜘 is 虫, which carries the idea of "insect". Dictionaries list 蜘 under this radical.
Can I say 蜘 by itself to mean spider?
No. In modern Chinese, spider is always 蜘蛛 (zhīzhū), and 蜘 alone is not used as a word. Treat 蜘蛛 as a single unit.
What does 蜘蛛人 mean besides Spider-Man?
In casual speech, 蜘蛛人 (zhīzhūrén) refers to workers who hang on ropes to clean or repair the outside of tall buildings, such as high-rise window washers. The name comes from how they dangle on a line like a spider.