How to Write 蠖 (huò) — Meaning “Inchworm / Looper”

Picture an inchworm (虫) crawling across a ruler that has marks for measuring inches. The right side 蒦 looks like a measuring tool because it contains 艹 (grass) and 隹 (bird) and 又 (hand) — imagine a worm moving like a measuring tape. This helps link the shape to the meaning "inchworm."

The left radical 虫 should be narrow, taking about one-third of the character width. The right part 蒦 is written with 艹 on top, then 隹 (the bird radical) and finally 又 at the bottom — be careful not to make the 隹 too tall or the 又 too small. A common mistake is mixing up the order of strokes in the right side.

蠖 (huò) means inchworm, while 螫 (shì) means to sting (like a scorpion) and 螬 (cáo) means a grub or beetle larva. Visually, 蠖 has 蒦 on the right, 螫 has 赦 (with 攵), and 螬 has 曹 (with 曰 and 一). Their meanings and uses are completely different, so context is key.

蠖 is rare in everyday speech, appearing mostly in biological terms like 尺蠖 (chǐ huò, inchworm) and 尺蠖蛾 (geometer moth). It also appears in the idiom 尺蠖之屈 (the inchworm's bend), from classical philosophy, which describes bending temporarily to achieve a greater goal — a lesson about patience and strategy.

Common words containing 蠖 include: 尺蠖 (chǐ huò) — inchworm; looper; 蠖屈 (huò qū) — To bend like an inchworm / To bide one's time; 尺蠖蛾 (chǐ huò é) — geometer moth.