How to Write 螅 (xī) — Meaning “Hydra (character component)”

Imagine a "resting bug" — the 虫 (bug) is taking a 息 (rest) in the water. You can also think of the pinyin "xī" sounding like "sea," and a Hydra lives in the sea (or freshwater). This visual link helps you recall that 螅 means a small water animal.

Write the left radical 虫 first (6 strokes), then the right part 息 (10 strokes), making the overall shape left-narrow and right-wide. A common mistake is forgetting the short horizontal stroke inside the mouth of 息, or misplacing the bottom 心 component. Pay attention to the balance: the 虫 should be smaller than the 息.

All three share the 虫 radical but differ in the other component: 螅 has 息 (rest) and means Hydra; 蜘 has 知 (know) and means spider; 蜚 has 非 (wrong/not) and means cockroach or a type of flying insect. The right-side parts visually and semantically set them apart.

螅 appears almost exclusively in scientific or biological terms, such as 水螅 (freshwater Hydra) and 绿水螅 (green Hydra). It is not used in everyday conversation. Culturally, the Hydra is famous for its regeneration ability, similar to the mythical multi-headed serpent, making this character interesting in biology lessons.

Common words containing 螅 include: 水螅 (shuǐ xī) — Hydra; 绿水螅 (lǜ shuǐ xī) — green hydra; 找水螅 (zhǎo shuǐ xī) — to look for hydras.