虫
虫 — Insect
insect, bug, temper
On’yomiチュウ (chuu)
On’yomiキ (ki)
Kun’yomiむし (mushi)
Stroke order (6 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 虫
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 虫 | むし mushi | insect; bug; cricket |
| 昆虫 | こんちゅう konchuu | insect; bug |
| 殺虫剤 | さっちゅうざい sacchuuzai | insecticide; pesticide |
| 虫歯 | むしば mushiba | tooth decay; decayed tooth; dental cavity |
| 玉虫色 | たまむしいろ tamamushiiro | iridescent colour; equivocal (reply, statement, etc.); ambiguous |
| 害虫 | がいちゅう gaichuu | harmful insect; noxious insect; pest |
Study notes
虫 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 6 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1351 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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