How to Write 蝻 (nǎn) — Meaning “Immature locust”

Imagine a southern (南) insect (虫) — a young locust that is still too small to fly, so it stays in the south (or in the field). The picture of a tiny bug from the south can help you link the sound nán to the insect radical and recall the meaning "immature locust."

Write the left radical 虫 first (3 strokes: 竖, 横折, 横, then 竖, 提, 点 — actually 虫 is 6 strokes, but standard order: 竖, 横折, 横, 竖, 提, 点), then the right part 南 (9 strokes: 横, 竖, 竖, 横折钩, 横, 横, 竖, 横折钩, 竖 — but careful: the inner structure is 冂 with two 十? Actually 南 is written as 横, 竖, 竖, 横折钩, 横, 横, 竖, 横折钩, 竖 — total 9). A common mistake is making the right part too wide or confusing the inner strokes of 南; keep it balanced so the left radical takes about one-third of the width.

Although all three have the insect radical 虫, their right-side components differ. 蝻 contains 南 and specifically means an immature locust (蝗蝻). 蛵 (xīng) uses 巠 and refers to a type of insect (rare, often seen in ancient texts). 蛸 (shāo) uses 肖 and commonly appears in words like 螳蛸 (táng shāo, mantis egg case) or 章鱼 (octopus, but note 蛸 alone can mean a kind of spider or mantis). Visually, 蝻 has a complex inner structure (two horizontal lines in 南), while 蛸 has the simpler 肖 (small + moon).

蝻 is not a common character in daily conversation; it appears mostly in agriculture or pest control contexts, such as 蝗蝻 (huáng nǎn, locust nymph) and 灭蝻 (miè nǎn, to exterminate locust nymphs). Historically, locust plagues were a major disaster in China, so this character shows up in old farming manuals or news reports about locust outbreaks. Today, you might see it in scientific texts about insect development or in historical discussions of Chinese agriculture.

Common words containing 蝻 include: 蝗蝻 (huáng nǎn) — Locust nymph; 蝻子 (nǎn zi) — Immature locust; 灭蝻 (miè nǎn) — To exterminate locust nymphs.