Meaning
insect; worm; an animal; an invertebrate; a worm; an insect
Chinese: 昆虫、虫子，也泛指小动物。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “chong” becomes a different word in each tone. 虫 is the 2nd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 虫子chóng ziinsect; bug; worm
- 昆虫kūn chónginsect
- 害虫hài chónginjurious insect; pest
- 大虫dà chóngtiger
- 生虫shēng chóng(of food, books etc) to become infested with bugs
Example Sentence
草丛里有许多小虫子。Cǎo cóng lǐ yǒu xǔ duō xiǎo chóng zi.There are many little insects in the grass.
草丛Cǎo cóngunderbrush里lǐinside有yǒuto have许多xǔ duōmany小xiǎosmall虫子chóng ziinsect。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph of a snake or worm with a triangular head. It once meant snakes and small creatures, and now means ‘insect / bug’; it is the radical in 蚊, 蛇, 虾.
A way to remember it
A little creature with a fat head and curling tail — a bug.
Easy to confuse with
- 中‘Middle’: a similar boxed vertical, but a clean line through a frame, with no legs or dot.