蝉
cicada
14 strokes
Dict coverage rank #2,674 U+8749
How 蝉 is formed
Phono-semantic compound (形声字)
虫 (semantic, “insect”) + 单 (phonetic, dān)
How to remember it
cicada · Heisig RSH #2275
虫 insect + 单 list
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Phonetic series: characters sharing the sound component 单
Siblings built with the same phonetic component 单 (dān) — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 单 sound component | dān | single, individual, only; lone |
| 弹 | tán | bullet, pellet, shell; elastic, springy |
| 殚 | dān | utmost, entirely, quite; to use up |
| 阐 | chǎn | to disclose; to explain; to open |
| 郸 | dān | a county in Hebei province |
| 啴 | tān | many; to pant |
| 惮 | dàn | to fear, to dread; to dislike, to avoid |
| 掸 | dǎn | to dust; a duster |
| 箪 | dān | a small bamboo basket for rice |
| 婵 | chán | beautiful, graceful, lovely, pretty |
| 瘅 | dān | bitter hatred; drought |
| 觯 | zhì | a horn of wine |
Words containing 蝉
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 金蝉脱壳 | jīn chán tuō qiào | lit. the cicada sheds its carapace (idiom); fig. to vanish leaving an empty shell; a craft… |
| 寒蝉效应 | hán chán xiào yìng | the chilling effect of a climate of fear in which people are afraid to speak their mind |
| 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 | táng láng bǔ chán , huáng què zài hòu | (lit.) the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the siskin behind (idiom, from Daoist clas… |
| 金蝉 | Jīn chán | Golden Cicada |
| 蝉科 | chán kē | Cicadidae, homopterous insect family including cicada |
| 蝉联 | chán lián | to continue in a post; (to hold a post) several times in succession; (to win a title) in s… |
| 蝉衣 | chán yī | cicada slough (used in TCM) |
| 寒蝉 | hán chán | a cicada in cold weather (used as a metaphor for sb who keeps their thoughts to themself);… |
| 蝉翼 | chán yì | cicada's wing |
| 蝉鸣 | chán míng | song of cicadas; chirping of insects |
| 蝉虾 | chán xiā | slipper lobster (family Scyllaridae) |
| 蝉猴 | chán hóu | (coll.) newly-emerged cicada nymph |
| 噤若寒蝉 | jìn ruò hán chán | to keep quiet out of fear (idiom) |
| 螳螂捕蝉 | táng láng bǔ chán | see 螳螂捕蟬，黃雀在後|螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后[tang2 lang2 bu3 chan2 , huang2 que4 zai4 hou4] |
| 貂蝉 | Diāo Chán | Diaochan (-192), one of the four legendary beauties 四大美女[si4 da4 mei3 nu:3], in fiction a … |
| 蝉蜕 | chán tuì | cicada slough; fig. to free oneself; to extricate oneself from |