How to Write 蟟 (liáo) — Meaning “Cicada”

Imagine the right side 尞 looks like a cicada with two long wings and a small body underneath. Then add the insect radical 虫 on the left to confirm it is a bug — so 蟟 is "the insect that looks like a wing shape".

The left radical 虫 should be written narrow, and the right part 尞 is wider. Pay special attention to the top of 尞: it starts with a horizontal stroke, then two vertical strokes (not like 了), and the bottom part is 小 with a hook. A common mistake is making the right side too short.

蟟 (cicada) has 尞 on the right, whereas 螃 (crab) has 旁 (meaning 'side', because crabs walk sideways) and 螅 (a kind of insect) has 息 (breath). Visually, 蟟's right side is taller and has three short horizontal strokes at the top, unlike the other two.

蟟 is very rare in everyday speech and mostly appears in old books or local dialects. You might see it in the word 蟟蟟 (cicada) or in phrases like 蟟蟟叫 (cicada chirping) and 捉蟟蟟 (to catch cicadas), often used by children in rural areas during summer.

Common words containing 蟟 include: 蟟蟟 (liáo liáo) — Cicada; 蟟蟟叫 (liáo liáo jiào) — Cicada chirping; 捉蟟蟟 (zhuō liáo liáo) — to catch cicadas.