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蜍 (chú) is a phonosemantic compound: 虫 (chóng) on the left indicates a crawling creature (historically covering insects, reptiles, and amphibians), while 余 (yú) on the right gives the sound. The character means toad and appears almost exclusively in the compound 蟾蜍 (chánchú, "toad"). In Chinese folklore, the toad is linked to the moon through the legend of Chang'e, who transformed into a toad upon fleeing to the lunar surface after drinking an elixir of immortality.
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