How to Write 蛳 (sī) — Meaning “River snail”

Imagine a teacher (师) pointing at a snail (虫) and saying, "This is a river snail, pronounced sī." The snail is shaped like a spiral, and the teacher helps you remember the sound. This links the radical for creature with the phonetic part for the sound.

Write the left radical 虫 first with three strokes (vertical, horizontal, vertical/horizontal), then narrow it. The right part 师 has seven strokes: a vertical stroke, then two horizontal strokes, then a vertical hook, then two more horizontals below. Keep both sides balanced; the left radical is slightly taller but narrower than the right part.

蛳 specifically means "river snail" and is pronounced sī, while 蚊 means "mosquito" and 蚋 means "gnat" or "midge." Visually, 蛳 has the right component 师, whereas 蚊 has 文 (wén) and 蚋 has 内 (nèi). All share the insect radical 虫 but differ in the phonetic part and meaning.

蛳 appears almost exclusively in the word 螺蛳 (luó sī, river snail), which is commonly eaten in southern China. The famous dish 螺蛳粉 (luó sī fěn) is a spicy noodle soup from Guangxi province. You might also hear 捡螺蛳 (jiǎn luó sī) meaning "to pick up snails" from rivers or ponds.

Common words containing 蛳 include: 螺蛳 (luó sī) — river snail; 螺蛳粉 (luó sī fěn) — river snail rice noodles; 捡螺蛳 (jiǎn luó sī) — Pick up snails.