蝴 (hú): butterfly (in 蝴蝶)

Meanings

一只彩色的蝴蝶落在花上。

Yìzhī cǎisè de húdié luò zài huā shàng.

A colorful butterfly landed on the flower.

她把头发扎成一个蝴蝶结。

Tā bǎ tóufa zā chéng yígè húdiéjié.

She tied her hair into a butterfly knot.

usage

蝴 never stands alone. Its only word is 蝴蝶 (butterfly), which also gives 蝴蝶结 (bow knot, shaped like a butterfly).

radical

虫 chóng

insect

The insect radical 虫 marks 蝴 as a bug, here one half of the word for butterfly.

phonetic

胡 hú

beard; recklessly

胡 supplies the sound hú exactly and carries no meaning here, serving purely as the phonetic part.

蝴 hú