butterfly
蝶 centers on the insect butterfly, a winged creature known for its colorful, fluttering flight.
蝶 combines 虫 (insect) with 枼, which likely contributes the sound and may have originally depicted thin, leaf-like objects, fitting the butterfly's delicate wings.
The insect radical 虫 on the left pairs with 枼, which looks like a leaf with a tree 木 and a world 世 of veins. Picture a butterfly resting on a leaf, its wings blending with the intricate pattern.
For チョウ, imagine a butterfly named Chou fluttering through a garden: Chou -> チョウ, and the butterfly dances among the leaves.
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butterfly
butterfly
butterfly
hinge
sturgeon (esp. the green sturgeon, Acipenser medirostris)
small cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae)
swallowtail butterfly (esp. the citrus swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus)
Madama Butterfly (opera by Puccini); Madam Butterfly
skipper butterfly
parnassian butterfly
kaluga (Huso dauricus); river beluga
national butterfly
Asian constable (species of butterfly, Dichorragia nesimachus)
sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus)
hostess (at a bar, cabaret, etc.)
pale grass blue (species of gossamer-winged butterfly, Pseudozizeeria maha)
tree nymph butterfly (Idea leuconoe)
beluga (species of sturgeon, Huso huso)
sunset morpho (butterfly, Morpho hecuba)
silver-studded blue (Plebejus argus)