Definitions

yíng (noun) fly (insect)

Etymology

Insects  that toads  feed on

About

The character 蝇, meaning fly, originates from its traditional form 蠅, which combines the insect classifier 虫 with the component 黽. This structure is phonosemantic, with 虫 denoting the creature's category and 黽 historically providing a phonetic approximation to the word's ancient pronunciation. In the simplified form 蝇, the right side is 黾, a reduced variant of 黽. The character's core meaning has always referred to the fly insect, and while sound changes have obscured the phonetic role of 黽/黾, the semantic indicator 虫 continues to anchor it to the realm of insects.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

桌子上有只苍

Zhuōzi shàng yǒu zhī cāngying.

There is a fly on the table.

喜欢脏地方。

Cāngying xǐhuān zāng dìfāng.

Flies like dirty places.

我赶走了那只苍

Wǒ gǎnzǒule nà zhī cāngying.

I chased away that fly.

的翅膀很透明。

Cāngying de chìbǎng hěn tòumíng.

The fly's wings are very transparent.

夏天苍特别多。

Xiàtiān cāngying tèbié duō.

In summer, flies are especially numerous.

他用拍打死了苍

Tā yòng yíngpāi dǎsǐle cāngying.

He killed the fly with a fly swatter.

传播多种疾病。

Cāngying chuánbō duō zhǒng jíbìng.

Flies spread various diseases.

为了防止苍进入,我们安装了纱窗。

Wèile fángzhǐ cāngying jìnrù, wǒmen ānzhuāngle shāchuāng.

To prevent flies from entering, we installed a screen window.