蚀 (shí): to erode; to corrode

Meanings

1 to erode; to corrode
2 to nibble away at
3 eclipse (as in 日蚀/月蚀)

Characters

蚀

shí

to erode; eclipse

Examples

酸雨会腐蚀金属。

Suānyǔ huì fǔshí jīnshǔ.

Acid rain corrodes metal.

日蚀是一种天文现象。

Rì shí shì yī zhǒng tiānwén xiànxiàng.

A solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon.

Tips

usage

蚀 is a bound morpheme — it rarely appears alone. Common compounds: 腐蚀 (corrode), 侵蚀 (erode), 日蚀/月蚀 (solar/lunar eclipse), 亏蚀 (financial loss).

Components

radical

虫 chóng

insect; worm

Right 虫 — pictograph of a coiled snake or worm, generalised to all insects and small creatures. As the indexing radical it carries the imagery: corrosion is metaphorical worm-action, slowly eating something away. Same radical drives 蛀 (worm-eaten), 蚊 mosquito, 蜂 bee, 蛙 frog.

phonetic

饣 shí

eat; food (radical form of 食)

Left food radical — three-stroke side form of 食. Here it doubles as phonetic and semantic: the sound shí passes straight through, and the 'eating' meaning is the heart of the character — erosion is gnawing slowly away. Originally written 蝕 with full 食 above 虫.