How to Write 蠊 (lián) — Meaning “cockroach”

Imagine a cockroach that is very "lean" (sounds like lián) because it squeezes into small spaces. Or think of 虫 (bug) plus 廉 (honest) — a cockroach is honestly a pest.

蠊 has 19 strokes. The left radical 虫 is written first. The right side 廉 starts with the 广 (roof) stroke, then inside write 兼 — be careful to make 兼 balanced with its two vertical lines. A common mistake is to misplace the top dot of 兼.

蠊 (lián) means cockroach, while 螫 (shì) means to sting and 螬 (cáo) refers to a scarab beetle. Visually, 蠊 has 廉 on the right, 螫 has 赦 (with 赤), and 螬 has 曹. The different right parts change both meaning and pronunciation.

蠊 appears mainly in scientific or formal terms like 蜚蠊 (fēi lián, cockroach scientific name) and 蠊虫 (lián chóng, cockroach). In daily conversation, people usually say 蟑螂 (zhāngláng) instead. The character is rarely used outside of entomology.

Common words containing 蠊 include: 蜚蠊 (fēi lián) — cockroach (scientific name); 蠊虫 (lián chóng) — cockroach; 蜚蠊目 (fēi lián mù) — Blattodea (order of insects).