蚪 (dǒu): (in 蝌蚪) tadpole

Meanings

孩子们在池塘边看蝌蚪。

Háizimen zài chítáng biān kàn kēdǒu.

The children are watching tadpoles by the pond.

蝌蚪的尾巴会渐渐消失。

Kēdǒu de wěiba huì jiànjiàn xiāoshī.

The tadpole's tail gradually disappears.

usage

Bound and used only in 蝌蚪 ('tadpole'). It never appears alone in everyday Chinese.

radical

虫 chóng

insect; small creature

Small creature, on the left, marking this as a tiny pond animal, partnered with 蝌 which carries the same radical.

phonetic

斗 dǒu

dipper; measure; phonetic

A dipper or ladle, giving the sound dǒu with an exact match. It works for sound here, not meaning.

蚪 dǒu