蠕 (rú) · to squirm, to wriggle, to wiggle (as a worm)

Meanings

1 to squirm
2 to wriggle
3 to wiggle (as a worm)

Characters

蠕

rú

to wriggle / squirm

Examples

HSK 7-9

蚯蚓在土里慢慢地蠕动。

Qiūyǐn zài tǔ lǐ mànman de rúdòng.

The earthworm slowly wriggles through the soil.

HSK 7-9

他的嘴唇微微地蠕了一下，却没说出话来。

Tā de zuǐchún wēiwēi de rú le yíxià, què méi shuō chū huà lái.

His lips twitched faintly, but no words came out.

Tips

memory

The radical 虫 (insect/worm) signals the meaning, while 需 gives the sound. Most commonly seen in the compound 蠕动 (to wriggle / peristalsis).

Components

radical

虫 chóng

insect; worm

Left-side insect radical, depicting a coiled snake or worm. It marks 蠕 as a creeping creature - the character names the wriggling, peristaltic motion of worms and grubs. Same family: 蛇 (snake), 蝎 (scorpion), 蚊 (mosquito), 蛆 (maggot). The radical is literal here, not metaphorical.

phonetic

需 xū

to need; require

Right side 需 supplies the sound - xū drifting to rú through regular x/r alternation in old readings. Originally 需 pictured a person waiting in the rain, meaning 'to wait, to need.' Same phonetic appears in 儒 (Confucian scholar), 濡 (soaked), 嚅 (mumble) - all sharing the rú reading.