How to Write 蠹 (dù) — Meaning “Bookworm / Wood-boring insect”

Imagine a stone (石) and a piece of wood (木) being eaten by insects (虫) — that is a 蠹 (dù) situation. The pinyin "dù" sounds like "do," so you can think "Do not let the bookworm eat your books."

The top half (石 and 木) should be compact and take up about two-thirds of the character, leaving room for 虫 at the bottom. A common mistake is making the 木 too wide or misaligning the horizontal strokes of 石 and 木. Write the bottom 虫 last, keeping it smaller and centered under the upper parts.

The key visual difference is the bottom component: 蠹 has insect (虫) at the bottom, while 蠲 has bird (鸟) at the bottom. This changes the meaning — 蠹 is a pest that damages wood or books, whereas 蠲 is a verb meaning to clear or remove. The character 蠮 is even rarer and has a different structure, but both are easily confused with 蠹 due to similar tops.

蠹 is not common in everyday speech but appears in formal or literary contexts, such as in the words 蠹虫 (bookworm/woodworm) and 蠹害 (insect damage). Culturally, it can metaphorically refer to a corrupt official who harms from within, as in the phrase 蠹政 (corrupt government). You will mostly encounter it in written or classical texts.

Common words containing 蠹 include: 蠹虫 (dù chóng) — Bookworm / Woodworm; 蠹害 (dù hài) — Insect pest damage; 蠹蚀 (dù shí) — To be eaten away by insects.