How to Write 蛲 (náo) — Meaning “Pinworm”

Imagine a pinworm (蛲) is so tiny that it can hide on a single leaf of a plant (尧 looks a bit like a plant with a leaf on top). The left side 虫 reminds you it is a worm, and the right side helps you recall the sound "náo" by thinking of the word "now" — "I have a pinworm NOW!"

Write the radical 虫 first with the middle stroke as a vertical line, not a hook. The right part 尧 has three horizontal strokes at the top; do not make them too long or they will cross into the left side. The total is 12 strokes, and the character should be balanced width-wise.

蛲 (náo) means pinworm, a parasitic worm; 蚊 (wén) means mosquito, a flying insect; 蚋 (ruì) means gnat, a small biting fly. Visually, 蛲 uses 尧 on the right, while 蚊 uses 文 and 蚋 uses 芮. Their meanings are all insect-related but refer to very different creatures.

蛲 is almost exclusively used in medical contexts, specifically for pinworm infections. You will see it in words like 蛲虫 (náo chóng, pinworm) and 蛲虫病 (náo chóng bìng, pinworm disease). It is not a common character in daily conversation and does not appear in the HSK vocabulary list.

Common words containing 蛲 include: 蛲虫 (náo chóng) — Pinworm; 蛲虫病 (náo chóng bìng) — Pinworm infection (Enterobiasis); 治蛲虫 (zhì náo chóng) — To treat pinworms.