蝉 (chán) — cicada

Definition

Examples

  • ,蝉。
    Xià tiān de shí hou, wǒ cháng cháng tīng dào chán de jiào shēng.
    In summer, I often hear the sound of cicadas.
  • 蝉,。
    chán Zài shù shàng shēng huó, dào qiū tiān jiù huì sǐ qù.
    Cicadas live in trees and die when autumn comes.
  • 蝉。
    Hái zi men zài shù xià zhǎo dào le yì zhī chán.
    The children found a cicada under the tree.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蟬; 蝉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
虫虫chónginsect
Sound part声符shēngfú
單
單dān蟬chán
Same sound today

The traditional form 蟬 combines 虫, meaning insect, with 單 for the sound; 蝉 is the simplified form of 蟬.

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