How to Write 螭 (chī) — Meaning “Hornless dragon (mythical)”

Imagine a hornless dragon that looks like a giant insect (虫) and decides to leave (离) its horns behind. This helps connect the left radical and the right phonetic to the meaning of a dragon without horns.

Pay attention to the right side 离: it has three stacked parts — a dot and horizontal line on top, a middle 凶 shape, and a bottom 禸 component. Common mistakes include mixing up the middle part with 凶 (a different character) or forgetting the bottom part.

螭 (chī) means a hornless dragon, while 蜘 (zhī) is the character for spider (as in 蜘蛛) and 蜚 (fěi) refers to a flying insect or cockroach. Visually, the right side differs: 螭 uses 离, 蜘 uses 知, and 蜚 uses 非.

螭 is rarely used in daily conversation but appears in historical and cultural contexts, such as 螭首 (dragon head ornaments on ancient buildings) and 螭纹 (dragon patterns on art or pottery). It carries a classical, mythical feel and is often seen in descriptions of traditional architecture or folklore.

Common words containing 螭 include: 螭龙 (chī lóng) — Hornless dragon; 螭首 (chī shǒu) — Dragon head ornament; 螭纹 (chī wén) — Dragon motif / Pattern.