How to Write 蚀 (shí) — Meaning “Erode / Eclipse”

Imagine a hungry insect (虫) slowly eating your food (饣) — this is corrosion. Or think of a solar eclipse as a giant bug taking a bite out of the sun, leaving only a dark circle. The image of something being consumed helps you recall both "erode" and "eclipse."

The left side is the simplified food radical 饣, which has only 3 strokes — do not write the full 食 (9 strokes). Write 饣 first with a short horizontal stroke, then a hook, then a vertical stroke. The right side 虫 has 6 strokes: a vertical mouth, a dot, and a horizontal line at the bottom.

蚀 includes the food radical 饣 on the left, while 虬 and 虮 only have the insect radical 虫. 虬 (qiú) refers to a mythical dragon-like creature, and 虮 (jǐ) means louse eggs or small insects. Unlike 蚀, these characters do not relate to erosion or eclipses and are rare in everyday vocabulary.

蚀 appears in common words like 腐蚀 (fǔ shí, corrosion), 侵蚀 (qīn shí, erosion), and 日蚀 (rì shí, solar eclipse). It is also used in scientific and technical contexts for chemical or geological processes. Culturally, ancient Chinese believed a solar eclipse was caused by a celestial dog or dragon eating the sun, so the character 蚀 visually matches that idea.

Common words containing 蚀 include: 腐蚀 (fǔ shí) — To corrode / Corrosion; 侵蚀 (qīn shí) — To erode / To corrode; 日蚀 (rì shí) — Solar eclipse.