蛭
leech
Readings
On'yomi
- シツ
- チツ
Kun'yomi
- ひる
Nanori
- えび
Meaning
蛭 centers on the leech, a blood-sucking worm. The meaning is specific and concrete, with no major abstract extensions.
Most common words using 蛭
- 蛭ひる
leech
- 八重山蛭木やえやまひるぎ
Rhizophora mucronata (species of mangrove)
- 医用蛭いようびる
Hirudo nipponia (species of blood-sucking leech)
- 山蛭やまびる
land leech (Haemadipsa zeylanica japonica)
- 沼蛭ぬまびる
Helobdella stagnalis (species of leech)
- 肝蛭かんてつ
sheep liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica)
- 肝蛭症かんてつしょう
fascioliasis
- 蛭木ひるぎ
mangrove (of family Rhizophoraceae)
- 蛭木騙ひるぎだまし
grey mangrove (Avicennia marina); white mangrove
- 蛭石ひるいし
vermiculite
- 蛭蓆ひるむしろ
Potamogeton distinctus (species of pondweed)
- 血吸蛭ちすいびる
Hirudo nipponia (species of blood-sucking leech)
- 雄蛭木おひるぎ
black mangrove (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza)
- 雌蛭木めひるぎ
Kandelia obovata (species of mangrove)
- 馬蛭うまびる
Whitmania pigra (species of leech)
Study
Etymology
蛭 combines 虫 (insect/worm) with 至, which likely contributes the sound. The character specifically denotes a leech.
Meaning mnemonic
A worm 虫 that arrives 至 to suck blood: that's a leech.
Reading mnemonic
For シツ, imagine a leech sitting on your skin: sit -> シツ, and the leech is right there.