How to Write 蚯 (qiū) — Meaning “Earthworm (character component)”

Imagine a worm (虫) crawling on a small hill (丘) — that hill is made of dirt, and the worm is an earthworm. You can also think of the word "Q" (qiū) as the sound the worm makes when it slides through the soil. This visual of a worm on a hill helps link the shape and meaning.

Make sure the left radical 虫 is written with seven strokes and fits compactly, while the right part 丘 has five strokes. A common mistake is making 丘 too wide or confusing its strokes with similar characters — note that 丘 has a short horizontal line on top, then a vertical line down. Keep the overall width balanced so 蚯 does not look stretched.

蚯, 虹, and 虺 all share the 虫 radical, but their right sides differ. In 蚯, the right side is 丘 (hill), meaning earthworm; in 虹 it is 工 (work), meaning rainbow; in 虺 it is 兀 (bald), meaning a venomous snake. Visually, 丘 has a vertical line and a bottom horizontal, while 工 is simpler and 兀 has a horizontal top with a hook.

蚯 is almost never used alone; it always appears in the word 蚯蚓 (qiū yǐn), meaning earthworm. You might see it in contexts like farming or biology, for example 蚯蚓爬 (worm crawling) or 蚯蚓粪 (worm castings). Culturally, earthworms are seen as helpful for soil health, and the character 蚯 itself is not part of common HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 蚯 include: 蚯蚓 (qiū yǐn) — Earthworm; 蚯蚓爬 (qiū yǐn pá) — Earthworm crawling; 蚯蚓粪 (qiū yǐn fèn) — Earthworm castings.