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蝸
🇹🇼🇭🇰🇯🇵🇰🇷
蜗
🇨🇳

snail

HSK 10
Nature →Animals →Insects
wō
カ
かたつむり
와, 왜
Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 咼 represents the sound.
Components
Traditional (蝸)
虫 insects+ 咼 jaw =
蝸 snail
虫 Meaning component
chóng insects
insects, worms
咼 Phonetic component
jaw
View phonetic series →
Simplified (蜗)
虫 insects+ 呙 gossip =
蜗 a snail
虫 Meaning component
chóng insects
insects, worms
mollusk
呙 Phonetic component
guō gossip
chat, jaw, gossip, talk
View phonetic series →
Notes
Similar Characters
蛊 harm (simp)蜀 short name for Sichuan蟲 insects (trad)烛 taper (simp)融 melt独 alone (jp)触 touch (jp)浊 filthy (simp)繭 cocoon (trad/jp)茧 callus (simp)萤 glow-worm (simp)虮 louse (simp)虰 less common word虱 bug (simp)虹 rainbow虺 large poisonous snake虻 horsefly虼 a flea虽 even (simp)虾 prawn (simp)
Historical Evolution
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
蝸
Regular
Modern
Chinese
蜗 / 蝸 [wō]
snail; Taiwan pr. [guā]; see 蝸牛|蜗牛[wō​niú]
Example Sentences
CHINESE WORDS (14)
蜗牛 [wō​niú] #16,523
snail
蜗居 [wō​jū] #57,009
humble abode
蜗杆 [wō​gǎn] #50,693
worm (mechanical engineering)
蜗行 [wō​xíng] #66,165
to advance at a snail's pace
蜗窗 [wō​chuāng] #71,976
fenestra cochleae (in middle ear)
蜗旋 [wō​xuán] #74,919
to spiral
人工耳蜗 [rén​gōng​'ěr​wō]
cochlear implant
无壳蜗牛 [wú​ké​wō​niú]
fig. people who cannot afford to buy their own house
耳蜗 [ěr​wō]
cochlea
蜗庐 [wō​lú]
humble abode
4 more items
JAPANESE WORDS (12)
でんでん虫 [でんでんむし] #126,984
snail
蝸牛角上 [かぎゅうかくじょう] #212,921
trifling (fight)
蝸牛角上の争い [かぎゅうかくじょうのあらそい] #233,198
fighting over nothing
蝸牛神経 [かぎゅうしんけい] #247,011
cochlear nerve
蝸角の争い [かかくのあらそい] #273,240
fighting over nothing
三条蝸牛 [みすじまいまい]
Euhadra peliomphala (species of land snail)
前庭蝸牛神経 [ぜんていかぎゅうしんけい]
vestibulocochlear nerve
左巻蝸牛 [ヒダリマキマイマイ]
garden snail (Euhadra quaesita)
蝸廬 [かろ]
little house
蝸牛殻 [かぎゅうかく]
cochlea
2 more items