About
The character 蛤 (gé / há) is a phono-semantic compound. Its left component, the radical 虫 (chóng), provides the semantic category, indicating a broad class of lower animals or invertebrates. The right component, 合 (hé), serves as the phonetic element. When pronounced "gé", the character refers specifically to bivalve mollusks like clams, as in 蛤蜊. When pronounced "há", it appears only in the compound 蛤蟆, referring to toads or frogs. This split usage shows how the character adapted to classify distinct cold-blooded creatures under the same radical, guided by phonetic similarity.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
海滩上有蛤蜊。
蛤蟆喜欢下雨天。
妈妈煮了蛤蜊汤。
弟弟害怕绿色的蛤蟆。
我们在市场买了新鲜蛤蜊。
蛤蟆的叫声在夜晚很响亮。
厨师用蛤蜊做了美味的意大利面。
研究显示蛤蜊对海洋生态系统很重要。