毒虫 (dú chóng) — poisonous insect or worm

Definition

noun

poisonous insect or worm

Measure word · 条

毒虫。
Zhè zhǒng dú chóng de dīng yǎo huì yǐn qǐ yán zhòng guò mǐn.
The sting of this poisonous insect can cause severe allergic reactions.
，毒虫，。
Zài rè dài yǔ lín lǐ, dú chóng hěn duō, yào xiǎo xīn.
In the tropical rainforest, there are many poisonous insects; be careful.
毒虫，。
Tā bèi dú chóng yǎo le, xū yào mǎ shàng zhì liáo.
He was bitten by a poisonous insect and needs immediate treatment.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

毒dúpoisonous

虫chónginsect; worm

毒 means poisonous and 虫 means insect or worm, so the word names a poisonous creature.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

屮屮chèvegetation

Sound part声符shēngfú

毐

毐ǎi毒dú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

毒 pairs 屮, a plant part, with 毐 as a sound part; this form was used for a poisonous plant.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蟲; 虫 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 蟲 is the one the reference discusses; 虫 is also a traditional character on its own.

Appears in