How to Write 蟆 (ma) — Meaning “toad”

Imagine a big toad (蟆) saying 'Ma!' as it jumps into a swamp — the right side 莫 sounds like 'ma' and looks like a mouth (mouth shape) plus grass (艹) and big (大). Picture the toad croaking 'Ma!' while hiding under a large grass patch to remember the shape.

The left side 虫 (3 strokes) should be narrow and slightly smaller, while the right side 莫 (13 strokes) is wider and taller. Pay special attention to the bottom part of 莫 — it has 大 (big) with a horizontal line separating it from the top grass radical; common mistakes include making the 大 too narrow or forgetting the horizontal stroke in the middle.

蟆 (toad) uses the radical 虫 plus 莫, while 蜘 (spider, zhī) uses 虫 plus 知 (knowledge). Although both have 虫, 蟆 refers to a toad (amphibian) and 蜘 to a spider. 蜚 (fēi) means cockroach or a verb meaning 'to fly' and has a different right component (非), so visually 蟆 has a larger right side with a clear '莫' structure.

蟆 is almost always used in the word 蛤蟆 (há ma, toad), especially in the common term 癞蛤蟆 (lài há ma, toad with warts). In Chinese culture, 癞蛤蟆 is often used in idioms like 癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉 (a toad lusting after a swan's meat) to describe someone aiming for something far beyond their reach.

Common words containing 蟆 include: 蛤蟆 (há ma) — Toad; 癞蛤蟆 (lài há ma) — toad; 蛤蟆叫 (há ma jiào) — Toad croaking.