萤

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

Stroke Order

萤 yíng