Glyph Origins

Radical ⾍ (142)

虫 (U+866B)

虫¹

{蟲} *C.lruŋ “insect, worm, bug”

Abstract depiction of a small crawling animal.

  • 劉洪濤 2025 - 釋虫

虫²

{虺} *[C̥.r]u[j]ʔ “small snake”

Shortening of . Created for Shuowen Jiezi to differentiate 虫 from and .

  • 劉洪濤 2025 - 釋虫

虫³

Shortening of to the upper part. Modern simplified form of in China and Japan.

  • Bökset R. 2021 - Long Story of Short Forms: Simplified Chinese Characters from A to Z (73)