蚀 (shí): to nibble away at sth, to eat into, to erode
蚀 (shí) is a Chinese character meaning “to nibble away at sth.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 饣 (structural) and 虫 (structural). It ranks #2507 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 蚀 an insect 虫 bite 饣; 饣 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 虫 (insect) appears in many related characters such as 蛋 (dàn, egg), 虽 (suī, although), 虫 (chóng, insect).
Definitions
- to nibble away at sth
- to eat into
- to erode
Etymology & Origin
ideographicAn insect 虫 bite 饣; 饣 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰饣虫 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 蚀 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 腐蚀 | fǔ shí | corrosion |
| 侵蚀 | qīn shí | to erode |
| 腐蚀性 | fǔ shí xìng | (lit. and fig.) corrosive |
| 蚀刻 | shí kè | to etch |
| 海蚀 | hǎi shí | coastal erosion |
| 锈蚀 | xiù shí | to rust away |
| 腐蚀剂 | fǔ shí jì | a corrosive (chemical) |
| 偷鸡不着蚀把米 | tōu jī bù zháo shí bǎ mǐ | see 偷雞不成蝕把米|偷鸡不成蚀把米[tou1 ji1 bu4 cheng2 shi2 ba3 mi3] |
| 偷鸡不成蚀把米 | tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ | lit. to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom) |
| 侵蚀作用 | qīn shí zuò yòng | erosion |
| 溶蚀作用 | róng shí zuò yòng | dissolving |
| 白蚀症 | bái shí zhèng | vitiligo |
| 全蚀 | quán shí | total eclipse |
| 日蚀 | rì shí | variant of 日食[ri4 shi2] |
| 月蚀 | yuè shí | variant of 月食[yue4 shi2] |
蚀 appears in 29 compound words: 3 as the first character, 72 as the last, and 24 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 蚀 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
蚀字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
shí zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character "蚀" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
...资本大厦银主盘6000万沽 内地客接火棒蚀一半
. . . zī běn dà xià yín zhǔ pán 6 0 0 0 wàn gū nèi dì kè jiē huǒ bàng shí yī bàn
...Capital Tower property listed by lender for 60 million; mainland buyer takes over and loses half the value
...易手尺价仅1万 原业主7年前高位接火棒 蚀380万离场贬值22.4%
. . . yì shǒu chǐ jià jǐn 1 wàn yuán yè zhǔ 7 nián qián gāo wèi jiē huǒ bàng shí 3 8 0 wàn lí chǎng biǎn zhí 2 2 . 4
... The price of the foot changed hands was only 10,000, and the original owner took over the fire stick at a high level 7 years ago, losing 3.8 million yuan and leaving the market to depreciate by 22.4%
...报|英超两军欧战齐晋级 车路士录破纪录亏蚀
. . . bào yīng chāo liǎng jūn ōu zhàn qí jìn jí chē lù shì lù pò jì lù kuī shí
... The Premier League and the two armies advanced to the European competition, and Chelsea recorded a record-breaking loss
...上林天池屋9000万易手 内地客12年惨蚀3成 够买2伙上林3房
. . . shàng lín tiān chí wū 9 0 0 0 wàn yì shǒu nèi dì kè 1 2 nián cǎn shí 3 chéng gòu mǎi 2 huǒ shàng lín 3 fáng
... Shanglin Tianchi House changed hands for 90 million, and mainland customers suffered a loss of 30% in 12 years, which is enough to buy 2 units of Shanglin 3 bedrooms
世界华文上季蚀1314万
shì jiè huá wén shàng jì shí 1 3 1 4 wàn
The world Chinese lost 13.14 million last quarter
酸性会腐蚀含有金属的物质。
Suānxìng huì fǔshí hányǒu jīnshǔ de wùzhì.
Acid acts on things which contain metal.
你看了昨天的月蚀了吗？
Nǐ kàn le zuótiān de yuèshí le ma?
Did you see yesterday's eclipse?
日蚀只会偶尔发生。
Rìshí zhǐ huì ǒu'ěr fāshēng.
An eclipse of the sun is a rare appearance.
乐观如明灯,照亮希望的前程. 消极如毒品,腐蚀健康的心灵.
Lèguān rú míng dēng, zhàoliàng xīwàng de qiánchéng. xiāojí rú dúpǐn, fǔshí jiànkāng de xīnlíng.
Optimism is like the lamp of hope. Pessimism [or negativity] is like a drug of sorrow.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 蚀 (shí)?
Is 蚀 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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