蛊 (gǔ): legendary venomous insect used…

Meanings

1 legendary venomous insect used in witchcraft
2 poison; to bewitch; to harm by witchcraft

Characters

蛊

gǔ

venomous witchcraft insect; to poison; to bewitch

Examples

HSK 7-9

古代传说中，蛊是一种用来害人的毒虫。

Gǔdài chuánshuō zhōng, gǔ shì yī zhǒng yònglái hàirén de dúchóng.

In ancient legend, gu is a venomous insect used to harm people.

HSK 7-9

他被她的美貌所蛊惑，无法自拔。

Tā bèi tā de měimào suǒ gǔhuò, wúfǎ zìbá.

He was bewitched by her beauty and could not free himself.

Tips

culture

蛊术 (gǔ witchcraft) is a practice associated in Chinese folklore with certain ethnic minorities of South China. It involves cultivating venomous creatures to create a poison or spell for harming enemies or controlling people. It features prominently in wuxia fiction and TV dramas.

Components

radical

虫 chóng

insect; worm

Top insect radical (Kangxi #142) - pictograph of a curled-up snake or worm; in compound-component use it represents creepy-crawlies generally. Indexes 蛊 in the bug family: 虾 (shrimp), 蛇 (snake), 蜘蛛 (spider). Here a single 虫 is used as semantic; the traditional 蠱 had three 虫's stacked, picturing many venomous creatures swarming.

semantic

皿 mǐn

vessel; dish

Bottom 皿 - pictograph of an open vessel with a flared base. With insects above, the picture is 'venomous creatures sealed in a jar' - the recipe for 蛊, southern folk magic where many poisons fight until one survives. Its venom fed curses (蛊毒). Indexed under Kangxi #142 虫 (chóng, insect) above.