蟀 (shuài): (in 蟋蟀) cricket (insect)

Meanings

墙根下有一只蟋蟀在鸣叫。

Qiánggēn xià yǒu yì zhī xīshuài zài míngjiào.

A cricket was chirping under the wall.

蟋蟀的叫声伴他入睡。

Xīshuài de jiàoshēng bàn tā rùshuì.

The chirp of crickets accompanied him to sleep.

usage

Only used in 蟋蟀 (cricket). It never stands alone — the two characters always travel together.

radical

虫 chóng

insect

Left 虫 (insect), the indexing radical. It marks 蟀 as a bug — the cricket of 蟋蟀.

phonetic

率 shuài

to lead; phonetic

Right 率 supplies the sound exactly (shuài = shuài). It is purely phonetic here, with no meaning contribution.

蟀 shuài