螻
mole cricket
Readings
On'yomi
- ロウ
- ル
Kun'yomi
- けら
Meaning
螻 refers specifically to the mole cricket, a burrowing insect. The meaning is narrow and does not extend to other concepts.
Most common words using 螻
- 螻蛄けら
mole cricket (esp. the Oriental mole cricket, Gryllotalpa orientalis)
- 川螻蛄かわげら
stonefly (any insect of order Plecoptera, esp. those of family Perlidae)
- 螻羽けらば
edge of a gabled roof; verge
- 螻蛄才けらざい
being a jack of all trades and master of none
- 螻蛄芸けらげい
being a jack of all trades and master of none
- 飛螻蛄とびけら
caddisfly; caddis fly (any moth-like insect of the order Trichoptera)
Study
Etymology
螻 combines 虫 (insect) with 婁, which likely provides the sound. The character was created to name the mole cricket specifically.
Meaning mnemonic
The insect radical 虫 on the left signals a bug, and the right side 婁 suggests a burrowing shape. Picture a mole cricket digging through the earth like a tiny underground creature.
Reading mnemonic
For ロウ, imagine a mole cricket crawling low to the ground: low -> ロウ, and the insect stays hidden in its burrow.