蝶 meaning and stroke order
Butterfly
How to write 蝶, stroke by stroke
15 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 蝶
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) butterfly
- variant of 蝶[die2]
How 蝶 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Insect.
虫 gives the meaning and 枼 hints at the sound.
Radical: 虫 (insect), shared by 197 characters on this site.
How to remember 蝶
On the left is 虫 (chóng), the insect radical, telling you this is a small creature. On the right is 枼, which gives the sound; picture a butterfly resting on leaves at the top of a tree (木).
蝶 is a bound form, so it rarely appears alone in speech. You will almost always see it in 蝴蝶 (húdié), the everyday word for butterfly. Example: 花园里有很多蝴蝶。(Huāyuán lǐ yǒu hěn duō húdié.) There are many butterflies in the garden.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 蝶 with 碟 (dié, small plate) and 谍 (dié, spy), which share the same sound part 枼. Check the left side: 虫 for the insect, 石 for the plate, 讠 for the spy.
Common words with 蝶
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 蝴蝶 | húdié | butterfly | |
| 蝴蝶结 | húdiéjié | bow; bowknot |
蝶 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 蝶
How many strokes are in 蝶?
蝶 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 蝶 mean?
蝶 (dié) means butterfly. A common word with it is 蝴蝶 (húdié), meaning "butterfly".
How do you pronounce 蝶?
蝶 is pronounced dié, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 蝶?
The radical of 蝶 is 虫, which carries the idea of "insect". Dictionaries list 蝶 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 蝶?
The traditional form of 蝶 is 蜨. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 蝶 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Can I just say 蝶 for butterfly?
In normal speech, no. Say 蝴蝶 (húdié). 蝶 alone shows up mainly in literary writing, names, or compounds like 蝶泳 (diéyǒng, butterfly stroke).
How is 蝴蝶 pronounced in everyday speech?
The dictionary form is húdié, with two second tones. In casual Mandarin, many speakers say the second syllable lightly, so it can sound close to húdie.