How to Write 蟑 (zhāng) — Meaning “Cockroach”

Imagine a cockroach (虫) standing in the middle of a chapter (章) of a book. The chapter has a solid structure — just like the cockroach’s hard shell — and the bug is ruining the pages.

The left radical 虫 should be narrow and tall, with the final dot placed properly inside the bottom. The right part 章 has a vertical column ending in a long horizontal stroke at the bottom; keep the two halves balanced so the whole character is not too wide.

蟑 (zhāng, cockroach) uses 章 on the right; 蝌 (kē, tadpole) uses 科 (kē) and relates to frogs. 蝎 (xiē, scorpion) has the radical 虫 and a different right part 曷 (hé). Visually, 蟑 has a flat top while 蝎 has more strokes on the right.

蟑 is almost always used in the word 蟑螂 (zhāngláng, cockroach), often when talking about household pests or extermination. Because cockroaches are disliked, the character carries a negative feeling and appears in cleaning or pest-control contexts like 蟑螂药 (cockroach bait).

Common words containing 蟑 include: 蟑螂 (zhāng láng) — Cockroach; 蟑螂药 (zhāng láng yào) — Cockroach bait; 灭蟑螂 (miè zhāng láng) — To exterminate cockroaches.