螬

cáo
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 used in 蛴螬, the white grub (larva of the scarab beetle)

Examples

HSK 7-9
Qí cáo shì jīn guī zǐ de yòuchóng, zhù zài nítǔ lǐ chī zhuāngjia de gēn.
The white grub is the larva of the scarab beetle and lives in the soil eating crop roots.

Tips

history
螬 is not used alone in modern Chinese. It exists almost only in the bound word 蛴螬 (qícáo), the white grub, a root-eating agricultural pest mentioned as far back as Mencius.

Components

radical
虫 chóng
insect; bug
虫 is the insect radical, marking the character as a bug - here a beetle larva.
phonetic
曹 cáo
group; office
曹 gives the sound cáo directly, with no tone change.

Stroke Order

螬 cáo