About
The character 蝈 is a phono-semantic compound. Its semantic radical 虫 (chóng, insect) on the left indicates the meaning category, while the phonetic component 国 (guó) on the right provides the pronunciation. The traditional form 蟈 uses the unsimplified 國. This character refers to a loud-chirping orthopteran, such as a grasshopper or katydid. It most commonly appears in the reduplicated word 蝈蝈 (guōguō), denoting the Chinese bush cricket, an insect traditionally kept as a singing pet in small cages in Chinese culture.
Etymology Hide
