How to Write 螂 (láng) — Meaning “Mantis/Dragonfly (character component)”

Imagine a "mantis" (螳螂) wearing a little "gentleman's" hat — the right side 郎 looks like 良 (good) with a small extra stroke on top, like a hat. So think: an insect (虫) that is a "gentleman" (郎) — the praying mantis is often seen as noble. This helps you recall the right side component.

The left radical 虫 should be narrow, with the third stroke (提, rising stroke) kept short so it doesn't crowd the right side. The right part 郎 has 8 strokes; be careful to write the top as 丶 then ㇕ (dot and horizontal fold), not as a single stroke. A common mistake is making the left 虫 too wide or the right 郎 too tall.

螂 is used in 螳螂 (mantis) and 蟑螂 (cockroach), while 蛐 (qū) appears in 蛐蛐 (cricket) and 蛑 (móu) in 蛑子 (a type of marine crab). Visually, 螂 has the 郎 component on the right, while 蛐 has 曲 (curve) and 蛑 has 牟 (móu). Their meanings refer to completely different insects or animals.

You'll see 螂 mostly in the compound words 螳螂 (praying mantis) and 蟑螂 (cockroach). In daily life, 灭蟑螂 (exterminate cockroaches) is a common phrase on pest control products. The character is not used alone — it always comes with another insect-related character to name a specific bug.

Common words containing 螂 include: 蟑螂 (zhāng láng) — Cockroach; 螳螂 (táng láng) — praying mantis; 灭蟑螂 (miè zhāng láng) — To exterminate cockroaches.