How to Write 蟋 (xī) — Meaning “cricket”

Imagine a cricket (虫) that "knows" (悉) everything about the night. The sound xī also matches the chirping of a cricket. This mental picture helps link the insect radical to the phonetic part.

The left part 虫 is narrow, while the right part 悉 is wider and taller. Be careful not to confuse the top of 悉 (釆, biàn) with 米; the first stroke is a left-falling stroke, not a horizontal. The bottom of 悉 is a shortened 心 with a hook on the final stroke.

All three have the insect radical 虫, but their right parts differ: 蟋 uses 悉, 蝌 uses 科 (kē), and 蝎 uses 曷 (hé). Their meanings also differ: 蟋 is part of 蟋蟀 (cricket), 蝌 is in 蝌蚪 (tadpole), and 蝎 is in 蝎子 (scorpion).

蟋 appears almost exclusively in the word 蟋蟀, meaning cricket. In Chinese culture, crickets are associated with autumn and cricket fighting has been a traditional pastime for centuries. The character is not used alone in daily speech.

Common words containing 蟋 include: 蟋蟀 (xī shuài) — cricket; 蟋蟀草 (xī shuài cǎo) — goosegrass / yard grass; 小蟋蟀 (xiǎo xī shuài) — Small cricket.