蚀

蝕

shí

虫 + 饣

Definitions

shí (verb) to erode; to eat away at

Etymology

An insect 虫 bite 饣; 饣 also provides the pronunciation

About

蚀 (shí) is a phono-semantic compound: the insect radical 虫 (chóng) suggests an insect bite, while 饣 (shí), a simplified form of 食 (food/eat), provides both the meaning of food and the pronunciation. In the traditional form 蝕, the full 食 appears. The character originally depicted insects slowly eating away leaves, wood, or crops, symbolizing gradual destruction. From this, it came to mean erosion, corrosion, and the wearing away of materials like metal or stone, and it is also used for solar and lunar eclipses, imagined as a celestial body being slowly consumed.

Etymology Hide

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

酸雨会腐蚀建筑物。

Suān yǔ huì fǔshí jiànzhù wù.

Acid rain can corrode buildings.

海风侵蚀着古老的岩石。

Hǎifēng qīnshí zhe gǔlǎo de yánshí.

The sea wind erodes the ancient rocks.

这块金属已经严重锈蚀了。

Zhè kuài jīnshǔ yǐjīng yánzhòng xiùshí le.

This piece of metal has severely rusted.

流水日夜不停地侵蚀着河岸。

Liúshuǐ rìyè bù tíng de qīnshí zhe hé'àn.

Flowing water constantly erodes the riverbank day and night.

月蚀是一种有趣的天文现象。

Yuèshí shì yī zhǒng yǒuqù de tiānwén xiànxiàng.

A lunar eclipse is an interesting astronomical phenomenon.

经济危机导致了资本的严重蚀耗。

Jīngjì wēijī dǎozhì le zīběn de yánzhòng shíhào.

The economic crisis caused serious depletion of capital.

这些壁画正受到湿气的缓慢剥蚀。

Zhèxiē bìhuà zhèng shòudào shīqì de huǎnmàn bōshí.

These murals are being slowly degraded by moisture.

投资者的本金在通货膨胀中逐渐被蚀损。

Tóuzī zhě de běnjīn zài tōnghuò péngzhàng zhōng zhújiàn bèi shísǔn.

Investors' principal is gradually being eroded by inflation.

Related Characters

Component: 虫

Component: 饣

蚀