字Study Chinese Characters
虫

chóng insect; bug

6 strokes

虫 (chóng) is a Chinese character meaning “insect”. It is written from 中 (middle; center) and 一 (one) and 丶 (dot stroke), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.

Build the character for “insect; bug”

Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.

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Learn this character

Structure

中 + 一 + 丶

Top–bottom structure

  • 中 middle; center · zhōng unknown
  • 一 one · yī unknown
  • 丶 dot stroke · zhǔ unknown

Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验（第1–4笔与「中」逐笔一致，第5笔为底横一，第6笔为右下点丶）

Memory aid

A bug pokes its head out of the middle (中), drops onto the flat ground (一), and leaves one small dot (丶) of a tail on the right.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

6 strokes

In real words

  • 小虫xiǎo chónga little bug; a small insect虫 = chóng
  • 毛毛虫máo máo chóngcaterpillar虫 = chóng
  • 昆虫kūn chónginsect虫 = chóng
  • 萤火虫yíng huǒ chóngfirefly虫 = chóng
  • 蛀虫zhù chóngwood-boring insect; moth; (figurative) parasite on society虫 = chóng
Go deeper

All readings

chóng main reading

insect; bug

insect; bug; worm — the general word for small crawling creatures

昆虫和类似的小动物的通称。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 小虫xiǎo chónga little bug; a small insect虫 = chóng
  • 毛毛虫máo máo chóngcaterpillar虫 = chóng
  • 昆虫kūn chónginsect虫 = chóng
  • 萤火虫yíng huǒ chóngfirefly虫 = chóng
  • 蛀虫zhù chóngwood-boring insect; moth; (figurative) parasite on society虫 = chóng

Other characters with these parts

中 → 仲冲忠种肿衷贵钟

一 → 一七丁丈三万下与

丶 → 丸主义丽之乓亡令

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 虫 mean?

虫 (chóng) means insect; bug; worm — the general word for small crawling creatures.

How do you pronounce 虫?

It is pronounced chóng.

What parts is 虫 made of?

中 (middle; center) and 一 (one) and 丶 (dot stroke), one above the other. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形笔画核验（第1–4笔与「中」逐笔一致，第5笔为底横一，第6笔为右下点丶）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 虫 have?

6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 虫?

虫. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.

What words use 虫?

Common ones are 小虫 and 毛毛虫. The reading of 虫 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.