蝮 (fù): pit viper

Measure Word

一条蝮 tiáo

Meanings

1 pit viper
2 venomous snake

Characters

蝮

fù

pit viper; venomous snake

Examples

HSK 5

山区有一种叫蝮蛇的毒蛇，咬人很危险。

Shānqū yǒu yī zhǒng jiào fù shé de dúshé, yǎo rén hěn wēixiǎn.

In the mountains there's a kind of venomous snake called a pit viper; its bite is dangerous.

HSK 7-9

蝮的毒液经过处理可以入药。

Fù de dúyè jīngguò chǔlǐ kěyǐ rù yào.

After processing, pit viper venom can be used medicinally.

Tips

usage

蝮 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. You will almost always see it as 蝮蛇 (fùshé, 'pit viper'). Treat 蝮 as a bound morpheme.

memory

The 虫 (chóng, 'insect/creepy-crawly') radical on the left flags it as a 'creature'; the right side 复 (fù) gives the sound. Many snake/insect names in Chinese follow this 虫 + phonetic pattern (蛇, 蛟, 蜈).

Components

radical

虫 chóng

insect; creature (radical)

Left insect/creature radical - the indexing radical. Originally pictured a snake coiled on the ground; in classical Chinese it covered all crawling creatures, including snakes, before narrowing to 'insect' in modern usage. Anchors 蝮 firmly in the reptile/bug family with 蛇 snake, 蜘 spider, 蟒 python.

phonetic

复 fù

to return; double (here phonetic)

Right 复 supplies the sound fù, an exact match with no drift. The 'return, repeat' sense plays no part in the meaning; pure sound peg here. Same phonetic powers 腹 belly, 覆 to cover, 馥 fragrance. 蝮 names the pit viper Gloydius brevicaudus, a venomous snake of east-Asian wetlands.