noun #15,356

Measure Word

tiáo

Meanings

  1. 1 maggot

Characters

Examples

Lājītǒng lǐ shēng le qū.
Maggots appeared in the garbage bin.
Fǔlàn de shíwù hěn róngyì zhǎng qū.
Rotting food easily breeds maggots.

Tips

memory
The radical (insect) on the left signals it's a bug/creature. The right side gives a hint at the pronunciation.

Components

radical
chóng
insect; worm
Left-side insect radical - originally a pictograph of a coiled snake, broadened over time to cover all small crawling creatures. Indexes (maggot, fly larva) in the bug family with mosquito, bee, snake, egg. Most chars naming small or creeping life carry this radical on the left.
phonetic
qiě
moreover; for now
Right supplies the sound - qiě shifts to qū through a regular ie/u alternation in this phonetic family. Same phonetic anchors to dishearten, to block, group, ancestor - all reading zǔ / jū / qū. Treat as a pure sound clue; 'moreover' has nothing to do with maggots.

Stroke Order