é
noun #36,811

Measure Word

zhī

Meanings

  1. 1 moth

Characters

Examples

Wǎnshang lùdēng xià fēi zhe xǔduō é.
Many moths were flying under the street lamp at night.
Fēi'é pū huǒ shì yì zhǒng běnnéng xíngwéi.
Moths flying into the flame is an instinctive behavior.

Tips

usage
is a bound morpheme — in everyday speech you almost always hear (ézi) or 飞蛾 (fēi'é, 'flying moth'). The classic chengyu 飞蛾扑火 (fēi'é pū huǒ, 'a moth flying into the flame') describes someone rushing toward their own destruction.
memory
Compare (moth) with (butterfly, dié). Both have the (insect) radical, but hides (wǒ, 'I') and hides — moths often have plain wings and dull colors, while butterflies () carry the 'leaf' element evoking colored wings.

Stroke Order

é