淮南虫

橘生淮南则为橘 júshēnghuáinánzéwéijú

oranges grown south of the Huai River are oranges / environment transforms nature / line from the Yanzi Chunqiu illustrating how context shapes character

淮南市 HuáinánShì

Huainan (prefecture-level city in central Anhui, north of the Huai River)

南方 nánfāng HSK 2 #2,940

the south / southern China

恐怖虫 kǒngbùchóng

Hallucigenia (Cambrian fossil worm) / 'terror worm' (popular science nickname)

三叶虫化石 sānyèchónghuàshí

trilobite fossil

江南可采莲 jiāngnánkěcǎilián

in Jiangnan, lotus can be gathered / (fig.) a classic evocation of summer leisure in southern China / (lit.) South-of-the-River, may pick-lotus

孔雀东南飞 kǒngquèdōngnánfēi

the peacock flies southeast / talent flows south / people leaving for better prospects (often toward southeast coastal China)

西南 xīnán HSK 2 #9,044

southwest / Southwest China

大江南北 dàjiāngnánběi #53,394

north and south of the Yangtze (idiom) / across the whole country; all over China / throughout the land

黄粉虫 huángfěnchóng

mealworm / yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor larva)