yíng
noun #27,350

Meanings

  1. 1 firefly
  2. 2 glow-worm

Examples

HSK 7-9
Xiàyè lǐ, yíng zài cǎocóng zhōng fēiwǔ.
On summer nights, fireflies dance among the grass.
HSK 7-9
Yíng de guāngmáng suī xiǎo, què zhàoliàng le hēi'àn.
Though the firefly's light is small, it illuminates the darkness.

Tips

culture
(fireflies) hold a special place in Chinese poetry and culture, symbolizing perseverance under hardship. The idiom 聚萤映雪 ('collecting fireflies and reading by snow') describes studying under difficult conditions.

Components

radical
cǎo
grass; plant (top radical)
Top grass radical - three compressed strokes for . As the indexing radical it tops in the botanical-and-creature radical family. The original traditional had twin flames above; the simplification swapped the fires for the grass cap, but the firefly meaning is unchanged.
semantic
cover; canopy
Middle - a horizontal canopy with hooks at each end. Originally this slot held the twin-flame element in the traditional ; the simplification reduced it to a cover. Reads as a small roof or shroud - the dim glow of a firefly hidden under leaves.
semantic
chóng
insect; small creature
Bottom - pictograph of a coiled snake, generalised to all insects. Carries the literal meaning: a firefly is a small flying insect. Same component groups with other insect chars: frog, bee, snake, butterfly, mosquito.

Stroke Order

yíng