螨

mǎn
noun #26,057

Measure Word

一只螨 zhī

Meanings

  1. 1 mite (arachnid)
  2. 2 acarus

Characters

Examples

HSK 6
Chuáng shàng kěnéng yǒu mǎn, yào dìngqī qīngxǐ chuángdān.
There may be mites on the bed; wash bed sheets regularly.
HSK 6
Chén mǎn huì yǐnqǐ guòmǐn fǎnyìng.
Dust mites can cause allergic reactions.

Tips

memory
螨 has the insect radical 虫 on the left, signaling it is a tiny creature. Common compounds: 尘螨 (dust mite), 螨虫 (mite).

Components

radical
虫 chóng
insect; bug
Left insect radical - originally a pictograph of a coiled snake-like creature, broadened over time to cover all small crawling animals: insects, arachnids, worms, even some reptiles. The indexing element. Puts 螨 in the tiny-creature family with 蚊 (mosquito), 蛛 (spider), 蚂 (ant), 蝇 (fly), 蚤 (flea). The radical states: this is a small living thing that crawls.
phonetic
艹 cǎo
grass
Upper-right 艹 - top piece of the right-side phonetic complex. Together with the 两 below it spells out the top of 满 (mǎn, full), which is the actual phonetic supplying 螨's reading. On its own the grass-cap doesn't carry meaning here; it's the upper half of the full mǎn phonetic graph cut into two leaves.
phonetic
两 liǎng
two; pair
Lower-right 两 - bottom piece of the phonetic complex. Combined with 艹 above, it forms the upper-right element of 满 ('full') minus the water radical, the actual phonetic that gives 螨 its reading mǎn. The phonetic was chosen for sound only. Same phonetic series: 瞒 (deceive), 蹒 (limp).

Stroke Order

螨 mǎn