How to Write 蛜 (yī) — Meaning “woodlouse”

Picture a woodlouse (a small, segmented bug) looking like a tiny armored vehicle with many legs. The right part 伊 can remind you of the word "yi" as in "icky," since many people find woodlice a bit icky or creepy.

Write the left radical 虫 first (stroke order: vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, dot). Then write the right part 伊: first the left-slanting stroke, then the horizontal, then the vertical stroke, followed by the hook and the two horizontal strokes. A common mistake is making the right part too wide; keep it narrow so the character stays balanced.

While all three characters share the 虫 radical, 蛜 specifically means woodlouse and is pronounced yī. 蚊 means mosquito and is pronounced wén, while 蚋 means gnat or small biting fly and is pronounced ruì. Visually, the right side differs: 蛜 has 伊, 蚊 has 文, and 蚋 has 内.

蛜 is quite rare and primarily appears in scientific or dialectal contexts, often in the compound word 蛜蝛 (yī wēi) meaning woodlouse. You might see it in biology textbooks or when describing small garden pests, but it is not used in everyday conversation or HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 蛜 include: 蛜蝛 (yī wēi) — woodlouse; 蛜虫 (yī chóng) — woodlouse; 捉蛜 (zhuō yī) — to catch woodlice.