蚣 (gōng): (in 蜈蚣) centipede

Meanings

蜈蚣咬人有毒，别用手去抓。

Wúgōng yǎo rén yǒu dú, bié yòng shǒu qù zhuā.

A centipede's bite is venomous, so don't catch one with your bare hand.

中医把干蜈蚣当药材。

Zhōngyī bǎ gān wúgōng dàng yàocái.

Dried centipede is used as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.

memory

蚣 = the insect radical 虫 plus 公 ('public'), which only lends the sound. It survives solely in 蜈蚣 ('centipede').

radical

虫 chóng

insect; worm; bug

The insect radical 虫 sits on the left, classifying 蚣 as a small crawling creature.

phonetic

公 gōng

public; common; male (animal)

公 supplies the pronunciation gōng with no tone shift. Its 'public' meaning plays no part in this word.

蚣 gōng