How to Write 蠼 (qú) — Meaning “Earwig”

Imagine an earwig (蠼) crawling into a giant ear, represented by the left side 虫 (insect) and the right part 豦 which looks like an ear shape. The 26 strokes remind you of the many tiny legs an earwig has. Picture the insect squeezing into a dark ear canal to recall this unusual character.

The left radical 虫 must be written narrow and tall, occupying about one-third of the width. The right part 豦 has many horizontal strokes—keep them parallel and evenly spaced to avoid a messy look. A common mistake is making the right component too wide, so balance the two halves carefully.

蠼 means "earwig," while 蠵 (xī) refers to a type of turtle or its shell, and 蠹 (dù) means "bookworm" or a pest that eats wood. Visually, 蠼 has 虫 on the left with 豦 on the right; 蠵 has 虫 with 巂 (guī), and 蠹 has 虫 between 石 and 木. Each has a distinct right-side component that changes the meaning entirely.

蠼 appears almost exclusively in the word 蠼螋 (qúsōu), meaning "earwig." It is a very rare character, not in the HSK list, and mostly found in zoological or entomological texts. In Chinese culture, earwigs are often associated with damp places and are sometimes considered pests, but no special folklore surrounds this specific character.

Common words containing 蠼 include: 蠼螋 (qú sōu) — Earwig.