How to Write 蜢 (měng) — Meaning “Grasshopper”

Imagine a grasshopper jumping on a "Meng" (孟) — like a character from the movie Mulan. The insect radical (虫) on the left reminds you it‘s a bug, and the "Meng" sound helps recall the pinyin měng.

The left radical 虫 is narrower, and the right part 孟 has three sections: 子 (child) on top, then 皿 (dish) below. Make sure the last stroke of 虫 (a dot) does not touch the 孟 part. The 皿 component should be wider than 子 to balance the character.

蜢 (grasshopper) uses the right component 孟, while 蛐 (cricket) uses 曲 (qū) on the right, and 蛑 (a kind of crab or insect) uses 牟 (móu). Visually, 蜢 has a 子 and 皿 shape; 蛐 has a box-like 曲; 蛑 has 牟 with a cow-like top. Their meanings are different insects or creatures.

蜢 mainly appears in the common word 蚱蜢 (zhà měng), meaning grasshopper. It is not an HSK word, but you might hear it in nature contexts or children‘s stories. In Chinese culture, grasshoppers are sometimes seen as symbols of summer or good luck in folklore.

Common words containing 蜢 include: 蚱蜢 (zhà měng) — Grasshopper; 蜢子 (měng zi) — Grasshopper; 捕蜢 (bǔ měng) — Catch grasshoppers.