蚕 (cán): silkworm

蚕 (cán) is a Chinese character meaning “silkworm.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 艹 (grass). It ranks #3460 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Native pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 艹 grass10 strokesFrequency #3460

Definitions

silkworm

Stroke Order

Practice writing 蚕 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
蚕食	cán shí	(lit. and fig.) to nibble away at
蚕丝	cán sī	natural silk (secreted by silkworm)
蚕豆	cán dòu	broad bean (Vicia faba)
桑蚕	sāng cán	silkworm
蚕食鲸吞	cán shí jīng tūn	lit. to nibble like a silkworm or swallow like a whale (idiom)
蚕子	cán zǐ	silkworm eggs
家蚕	jiā cán	the common silkworm (Bombyx mori)
蚕种	cán zhǒng	silkworm eggs
养蚕业	yǎng cán yè	silk industry
草石蚕	cǎo shí cán	Chinese artichoke
蚕山	cán shān	see 蠶蔟\|蚕蔟[can2 cu4]
蚕宝宝	cán bǎo bǎo	silkworm
养蚕	yǎng cán	to raise silkworms
蚕农	cán nóng	sericulturist
蚕沙	cán shā	silkworm guano (excrement)

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

蚕 appears in 35 compound words: 66 as the first character, 26 as the last, and 9 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

蚕食鲸吞cánshíjīngtūnHSK 7+

to seize another country's territory by piecemeal encroachment or wholesale annexation

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

老师教我们蚕字的发音和笔顺。

lǎo shī jiào wǒ men cán zì de fā yīn hé bǐ shùn .

The teacher taught us the pronunciation and stroke order of the character for "silkworm."

中国新闻网_梳理天下新闻Apr 2026

数万游客涌向浙江含山“轧蚕花” 00后成民俗新主力

shǔ wàn yóu kè chōng xiàng zhè jiāng hán shān 轧 cán huā 0 0 hòu chéng mín sú xīn zhǔ lì

Tens of Thousands of Tourists Flock to Hanzhou, Zhejiang, for the "Silkworm Flower" Festival; Gen Z Emerges as the New Mainstay of the Folk Tradition

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 蚕 (cán) mean in Chinese?

蚕 (cán) primarily means "silkworm." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #3460 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 蚕 have?

蚕 is written with 10 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 蚕?

The radical associated with 蚕 is 艹 (grass). This radical appears in many characters related to grass.

What are common words containing 蚕?

Common words with 蚕 include: 蚕食 (cán shí, "(lit. and fig.) to nibble away at"); 蚕丝 (cán sī, "natural silk (secreted by silkworm)"); 蚕豆 (cán dòu, "broad bean (Vicia faba)"); 桑蚕 (sāng cán, "silkworm"); 蚕食鲸吞 (cán shí jīng tūn, "lit. to nibble like a silkworm or swallow like a whale (idiom)"). There are over 35 compound words containing this character.

Is 蚕 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

No. The simplified form is 蚕 and the traditional form is 蠶.

Practice writing 蚕 with real-time feedback

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