螫 meaning and stroke order
Poison, sting; poisonous insect
How to write 螫, stroke by stroke
17 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 螫
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary) (of a bee or spider etc) to sting or bite
- (of a bee or spider etc) to sting or bite
- (of an irritant) to make (one's eyes or skin) sting
How 螫 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Insect.
虫 gives the meaning and 赦 hints at the sound.
Radical: 虫 (insect), shared by 197 characters on this site.
How to remember 螫
An insect 虫 (chóng) sits under 赦 (shè), which gives the sound. Picture a bug crawling up from below to sting you, and 赦 tells you it sounds like shì.
In everyday speech this character is usually read zhē and means a bee or other insect stings you. It can also describe an irritant that makes your eyes or skin sting. Example: 我被蜜蜂螫了。(Wǒ bèi mìfēng zhē le.) I got stung by a bee. The reading shì is literary and mostly appears in written or set phrases.
Common mistake: Learners often read it only as shì, but in spoken Mandarin people say zhē for being stung. Also do not confuse the top part 赦 (shè, to pardon) with 赤 (chì, red) alone; 赦 has 攵 on the right.
螫 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 螫
How many strokes are in 螫?
螫 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 螫 mean?
螫 (shì) means poison, sting; poisonous insect.
How do you pronounce 螫?
螫 is pronounced shì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 螫?
The radical of 螫 is 虫, which carries the idea of "insect". Dictionaries list 螫 under this radical.
What is the difference between 螫 and 蜇?
Both can be read zhē and mean to sting. 蜇 is the more common everyday spelling, and 螫 is often seen as the more formal or literary form, especially when read shì.
Can 螫 be used for things other than insects?
Yes. In the zhē reading it can describe an irritant, such as something that makes your eyes or skin sting. It is still mainly used for bees, wasps, scorpions and similar creatures.