How to Write 蚓 (yǐn) — Meaning “earthworm”

Imagine an earthworm (虫) using its body to pull (引) itself forward through the dirt. The picture of a worm doing a pulling motion helps connect the left part to the right part visually.

Write the left radical 虫 first (6 strokes: 竖, 横折, 横, 竖, 点, 提), then the right part 引 (4 strokes: 横折, 横, 竖折折钩, 竖). Keep the left side narrow and the right side slightly wider; a common mistake is making 虫 too wide or forgetting the hook in the last stroke of 引.

While all share the 虫 radical, 蚓 specifically means "earthworm" and uses 引 on the right. 虮 (jǐ) means "nit" (louse egg) with the component 几 (small table), and 虰 (dīng) refers to a mosquito larva with 丁 (nail). Visually, 引 is taller than 几 or 丁, so focus on the right side's shape to tell them apart.

蚓 is almost always used in the word 蚯蚓 (qiū yǐn, earthworm), especially in biology, farming, and traditional Chinese medicine. In culture, earthworms symbolize humility and hard work, and there is a phrase 蚯蚓撼树 (earthworm trying to shake a tree) to describe someone overestimating their strength.

Common words containing 蚓 include: 蚯蚓 (qiū yǐn) — Earthworm; 蚯蚓爬 (qiū yǐn pá) — Earthworm crawling; 养蚯蚓 (yǎng qiū yǐn) — To raise earthworms.