蜣 (qiāng) · used in 蜣螂, the dung beetle

Meanings

HSK 7-9

蜣螂在地上滚粪球。

Qiāngláng zài dìshàng gǔn fènqiú.

The dung beetle rolls a ball of dung along the ground.

history

蜣 is not used independently in modern Chinese. It occurs only in the insect name 蜣螂 (dung beetle), bound to 螂. It is built on the insect radical 虫.

radical

虫 chóng

insect; bug

The 虫 'insect' radical marks 蜣 as a kind of bug and is its indexing radical, as in most insect-name characters.

phonetic

羌 qiāng

the Qiang people; (here) phonetic

The 羌 element supplies the sound; the insect radical narrows it to this dung-rolling beetle.

蜣 qiāng