How to Write 蚪 (dǒu) — Meaning “tadpole”

Imagine a tadpole as a tiny bug (虫) that looks like a little "fighting" dot, like the shape of 斗 (a dipper). You can picture the tadpole with a big round head (like the top part of 斗) and a wiggly tail. This visual link helps connect the character to its meaning.

Write the left radical 虫 first with its 6 strokes, keeping it narrow and balanced. Then add 斗 on the right, making sure the two dots (丶丶) on the upper left of 斗 are placed closely together, not too far apart. A common mistake is making the right part too wide, so keep 斗 compact and slightly shorter than 虫.

Unlike 蚪 (tadpole), 虮 (jǐ) means louse eggs (nits) and 虰 (dīng) means a type of dragonfly. Visually, 虮 has 几 on the right and 虰 has 丁 on the right, whereas 蚪 has 斗. The meanings are all small creatures, but they are not interchangeable in usage.

蚪 is almost always used in the word 蝌蚪 (kē dǒu), meaning tadpole. It also appears in 蝌蚪文 (kē dǒu wén), an ancient Chinese script with tadpole-like curved strokes. You will rarely see 蚪 alone; it is mainly a component of these common words related to tadpoles or ancient calligraphy.

Common words containing 蚪 include: 蝌蚪 (kē dǒu) — Tadpole; 蝌蚪文 (kē dǒu wén) — Tadpole script (ancient Chinese script); 小蝌蚪 (xiǎo kē dǒu) — Small tadpole.