蚊 (wén): mosquito

Measure Word

一只蚊 zhī

Meanings

1 mosquito

Characters

蚊

wén

mosquito (insect radical 虫 + phonetic 文)

Examples

夏天蚊子很多，要注意防蚊。

Xiàtiān wénzi hěnduō, yào zhùyì fáng wén.

There are many mosquitoes in summer; you need to protect yourself against them.

这种蚊会传播疟疾。

Zhèzhǒng wén huì chuánbō nüèjí.

This type of mosquito can transmit malaria.

Tips

usage

The standalone form 蚊 is used in compounds (防蚊 mosquito repellent, 灭蚊 mosquito control). In everyday speech, the diminutive form 蚊子 (wénzi) is far more common.

memory

The character 蚊 has the insect radical 虫 on the left — a reliable marker for insect-related characters.

Components

radical

虫 chóng

insect; bug

Insect radical on the left — pictograph of a coiled worm or snake, generalised to any small crawling or flying creature. Indexes 蚊 in the bug family with 蜂 bee, 蝶 butterfly, 蚁 ant. Marks the character firmly as the name of an insect — here, the mosquito.

phonetic

文 wén

writing; pattern

Right side 文 supplies the sound wén directly, no drift. 文 originally pictured the patterned tattoos on a person’s chest — a faint semantic chime with the high-pitched whine of a mosquito, a sound that "marks" the air. Same phonetic in 蚊 itself and 闻 to hear.