蛰 (zhé): to hibernate (of animals)

Meanings

1 to hibernate (of animals)
2 to lie dormant
3 to sting (of insects)

Characters

蛰

zhé

to hibernate; to sting

Examples

HSK 5

熊在冬天蛰伏，等待春天到来。

Xióng zài dōngtiān zhéfú, děngdài chūntiān dàolái.

Bears hibernate in winter, waiting for spring to arrive.

HSK 7-9

惊蛰是二十四节气之一，代表冬眠动物苏醒。

Jīngzhé shì èrshísì jiéqì zhīyī, dàibiǎo dōngmián dòngwù sūxǐng.

Jingzhe is one of the 24 solar terms, representing the awakening of hibernating animals.

HSK 7-9

他被蜜蜂蛰了一下，手很肿。

Tā bèi mìfēng zhé le yīxià, shǒu hěn zhǒng.

He was stung by a bee and his hand swelled up.

Tips

history

蛰 appears in 惊蛰 (Jīngzhé), the 3rd of the 24 traditional solar terms (around March 5-6), literally 'startling the hibernators.' Thunder awakens creatures from winter dormancy. The dual meaning (hibernate + sting) comes from the character's association with insects hiding in the ground.

Components

radical

虫 chóng

insect; small creature

Bottom 虫 is the indexing radical - once a snake or worm, now used broadly for cold-blooded animals. Hibernators are mostly insects and reptiles, so the radical fits 蛰 'to lie dormant in winter'. The 24-solar-term 惊蛰 'awakening of insects' uses this same image.

phonetic

执 zhí

to hold; grip

Top 执 supplies the sound - zhí shifted to zhé in 蛰's reading. There's a faint semantic echo: a hibernating animal is 'held still' through winter, gripped by the cold. But primarily read 执 here as the phonetic anchor. Same root: 挚 sincere, 蛰 hibernate.