蛋 (dàn): egg

Meanings

1 egg

Characters

蛋

dàn

egg

疋 (roll of cloth) + 虫 (insect) — an insect's cocoon-like egg.

Examples

我早上吃了两个蛋。

Wǒ zǎoshang chī le liǎng ge dàn.

I ate two eggs this morning.

你喜欢吃鸡蛋吗？

Nǐ xǐhuan chī jīdàn ma?

Do you like eating eggs?

Tips

usage

Types of eggs: 鸡蛋 (chicken egg — the most common), 鸭蛋 (duck egg), 皮蛋 (century egg/preserved egg), 茶叶蛋 (tea egg — a popular street snack). 蛋糕 means cake.

culture

Tea eggs (茶叶蛋) are eggs boiled in tea, soy sauce, and spices — you can find them at convenience stores and street stalls across China. The cracked-shell pattern is part of the charm.

Components

radical

虫 chóng

small creature; insect; reptile

Bottom 虫 — the indexing radical, meaning a small creature: insect, reptile, or worm. Anchors 蛋 as an egg laid by such creatures (snakes, lizards, and birds were all classed under 虫 in old usage). From the literal egg came the round-thing extension and the colloquial idiot insult (笨蛋). Same family: 蛇, 蚊, 蝶.

phonetic

疋 pǐ

roll; foot (here graphic)

Top 疋 — historically supplied a phonetic value for the original southern dialect word for egg, though the modern reading dàn has drifted far from any live phonetic match. The graph also visually suggests the rounded shape of the egg sitting above the creature below. Treat as opaque phonetic residue.