How to Write 蝤 (qiú) — Meaning “Grub (character component)”

Imagine a grub (虫) sitting inside a large wine jar (酋, which looks like a container), growing into a swimming crab (蝤蛑). The shape of 酋 resembles a jar with a lid, so picture the grub inside it. This links the insect meaning to the sound and common word.

Write the left radical 虫 first (6 strokes), then the right side 酋 (9 strokes). Pay special attention to the top of 酋: it starts with two dots (丷), not a single stroke, and the bottom part is 酉 (a wine jar). A common mistake is to write the top dots as a horizontal line or to confuse the bottom 酉 with 西.

蝤 has the right side 酋, while 蛵 has 巠 and 蛸 has 肖. Their meanings differ: 蝤 refers to grubs or a type of crab, 蛵 is a rare ancient character for a small insect, and 蛸 means a long-legged spider. Visually, the right-side components are distinct: 酋 has a jar-like shape, 巠 looks like threads, and 肖 resembles a small body.

蝤 is not a common standalone character; it appears mostly in compound words like 蝤蛑 (swimming crab) and 蝤蛴 (larva of a long-horned beetle). In classical Chinese poetry, 蝤蛴 was used as a metaphor for a woman's white neck because the larva is pale and soft. Today, you will mostly encounter it in biological or literary contexts.

Common words containing 蝤 include: 蝤蛑 (qiú móu) — Swimming crab; 大蝤蛑 (dà qiú móu) — Large swimming crab; 蝤蛴 (qiú qí) — Larva of a long-horned beetle.