蟋
cricket, grasshopper
Strokes17
Readings
On'yomi
- シツ
Kun'yomi
—
Meaning
蟋 centers on a specific insect: the cricket. The grasshopper meaning is a closely related insect, but the primary image is a chirping cricket.
Most common words using 蟋
Study
Etymology
蟋 is a phono-semantic compound: the insect radical 虫 indicates the meaning, while 悉 likely contributes the sound. The exact historical development of the right component is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side 虫 tells you it's an insect. The right side 悉 looks like a complex tangle of legs and wings, like a cricket's body. Picture a cricket tangled in its own chirping song.
Reading mnemonic
For シツ, imagine a cricket sitting on a leaf, making a sharp 'shitsu!' chirp. The sound 'shitsu' cues シツ while the cricket sits there.