蚯
earthworm
Strokes11
Readings
On'yomi
- キュウ
Kun'yomi
- みみず
Meaning
蚯 refers specifically to an earthworm, a creature associated with soil and burrowing.
Most common words using 蚯
- バルカン蚯蚓蜥蜴バルカンみみずとかげ
Iberian worm lizard (Blanus cinereus); European worm lizard
- 岩磯蚯蚓いわいそめ
Marphysa sanguinea (species of eunicid worm)
- 枷蚯蚓かせみみず
Epimenia verrucosa (mollusc)
- 磯蚯蚓いそめ
eunicid (any worm of family Eunicidae)
- 蚯蚓きゅういん
earthworm
- 蚯蚓蜥蜴みみずとかげ
worm lizard; amphisbaenian
- 蚯蚓鯊みみずはぜ
flat-headed goby (Luciogobius guttatus)
- 蚯蚓鳴くみみずなく
cry of earthworms (heard on autumn nights and rainy days)
Study
Etymology
蚯 is a phono-semantic compound: the insect radical 虫 indicates a creature, and 丘 (キュウ) provides the sound. Together they represent the earthworm.
Meaning mnemonic
An insect 虫 that lives in mounds 丘 of soil: that's an earthworm.
Reading mnemonic
For キュウ, imagine a cute earthworm named 'Q' (kyuu) wriggling in the dirt: Q -> キュウ.