蝇 meaning and stroke order
Fly, musca
How to write 蝇, 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 蝇
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- fly
- musca
How 蝇 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Insects 虫 that toads 黾 feed on.
Radical: 虫 (insect), shared by 197 characters on this site.
How to remember 蝇
On the left is 虫 (chóng), insect, and on the right is 黾 (mǐn), a toad or frog. Picture the insect 虫 that a toad 黾 loves to snap up for dinner: a fly.
蝇 rarely appears alone in everyday speech. People almost always say 苍蝇 (cāngying) for a housefly, and 蝇 shows up in set words and idioms. Example: 房间里有一只苍蝇。(Fángjiān lǐ yǒu yì zhī cāngying.) There is a fly in the room.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 蝇 (yíng) with 绳 (shéng, rope), which shares the 黾 part but has the silk radical 纟 instead of 虫. Also note that in 苍蝇 the second syllable is usually said in the neutral tone, cāngying, not cāngyíng.
Common words with 蝇
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 苍蝇 | cāngying | housefly | HSK 7-9 |
蝇 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 蝇
How many strokes are in 蝇?
蝇 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 蝇 mean?
蝇 (yíng) means fly, musca. A common word with it is 苍蝇 (cāngying), meaning "housefly".
How do you pronounce 蝇?
蝇 is pronounced yíng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 蝇?
The radical of 蝇 is 虫, which carries the idea of "insect". Dictionaries list 蝇 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 蝇?
The traditional form of 蝇 is 蠅. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 蝇 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 蝇 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 蝇 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What measure word is used for a fly in Chinese?
Use 只 (zhī), as in 一只苍蝇 (yì zhī cāngying), one fly. This is the same measure word used for many small animals and insects.
What does the idiom 蝇头小利 mean?
蝇头小利 (yíngtóu xiǎolì) literally means profit as small as a fly's head. It describes a tiny, petty gain, often one not worth chasing.