蟹 (xiè): crab

蟹 (xiè) is a Chinese character meaning “crab.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 解 (phonetic) and 虫 (semantic). It ranks #3113 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 蟹 insect. Its radical form 虫 (insect) appears in many related characters such as 虫 (chóng, insect), 蛇 (shé, snake), 蛋 (dàn, egg).

Native pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 虫 insect19 strokesFrequency #3113解 phonetic 虫 semantic

Definitions

crab

Etymology & Origin

蟹

pictophoneticinsect

Decomposition: ⿱解虫 (layout: top-bottom)

Components:解phonetic 虫semantic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 蟹 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
螃蟹	páng xiè	crab
蟹肉	xiè ròu	crab meat
寄居蟹	jì jū xiè	hermit crab
蟹黄	xiè huáng	the ovary and digestive glands of a female crab (eaten as a delicacy)
相手蟹	xiāng shǒu xiè	crab of family Sesarmidae
和乐蟹	hé lè xiè	Hele crab
蟹状星云	xiè zhuàng xīng yún	Crab Nebula
无脚蟹	wú jiǎo xiè	helpless lonely person
天蟹座	tiān xiè zuò	Cancer (constellation and sign of the zodiac)
帝王蟹	dì wáng xiè	king crab (esp. Paralithodes camtschaticus)
虾兵蟹将	xiā bīng xiè jiàng	shrimp soldiers and crab generals (in mythology or popular fiction, the army of the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea)
巨蟹座	jù xiè zuò	Cancer (constellation and sign of the zodiac)
软脚蟹	ruǎn jiǎo xiè	same as 軟腳蝦\|软脚虾[ruan3 jiao3 xia1]
摩蟹座	mó xiè zuò	Capricorn (constellation and sign of the zodiac)
马蹄蟹	mǎ tí xiè	horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus)

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

蟹 appears in 29 compound words: 28 as the first character, 55 as the last, and 17 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 蟹 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

螃páng

0.8287,386 co-occurrences

虾xiā

0.547900 co-occurrences

巨jù

0.5196,333 co-occurrences

蘸zhàn

0.478132 co-occurrences

寄jì

0.4611,638 co-occurrences

蛛zhū

0.460738 co-occurrences

钳qián

0.455144 co-occurrences

座zuò

0.4305,625 co-occurrences

闸zhá

0.425426 co-occurrences

膏gāo

0.425318 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (2)

虾兵蟹将xiābīngxièjiàngHSK 7+

a troop that is weak when in combat

noun

蟹状星云xiè zhuàng xīng yúnHSK 7+

Crab Nebula

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

学习蟹字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。

xué xí xiè zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .

You need to practice writing the character for "crab" repeatedly to write it neatly.

Hk01.comApr 2026

十二星座不喜欢你有什么表现?巨蟹主动疏远白羊拒绝时不留余地

shí èr xīng zuò bù xǐ huān nǐ yǒu shén má biǎo xiàn ? jù xiè zhǔ dòng shū yuǎn bái yáng jù jué shí bù liú yú dì

StheadlineMar 2026

阿拉斯加蟹震撼52折!人均$198豪叹4斤重长脚蟹...

ā lā sī jiā xiè zhèn hàn 5 2 zhé ! rén jūn 1 9 8 háo tàn 4 jīn chóng cháng jiǎo xiè . . .

Alaskan Crab at a Staggering 52% Off! Indulge in a 4-pound king crab for just $198 per person...

大紀元 | 大紀元新聞網Mar 2026

中国船员被曝温哥华狂捕珍宝蟹引发加国调查

zhōng guó chuán yuán bèi pù wēn gē huá kuáng bǔ zhēn bǎo xiè yǐn fā jiā guó diào chá

Chinese Crew Members Accused of Overfishing Dungeness Crabs in Vancouver, Prompting Canadian Investigation

UdnnewsindexFeb 2026

杀破狼周运势/巨蟹经济富裕很多双鱼情人终成眷属

shā pò láng zhōu yùn shì jù xiè jīng jì fù yù hěn duō shuāng yú qíng rén zhōng chéng 眷 shǔ

Kill the wolf week horoscope/Cancer is much more economically rich Pisces lovers finally get married

NewsFeb 2026

每日星座运势/巨蟹今日桃花绕左右选择机会颇多

měi rì xīng zuò yùn shì jù xiè jīn rì táo huā rào zuǒ yòu xuǎn zé jī huì pō duō

Daily horoscope/Cancer today peach blossoms around There are many opportunities to choose

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 蟹 (xiè) mean in Chinese?

蟹 (xiè) primarily means "crab." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #3113 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 蟹 have?

蟹 is written with 19 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 蟹?

The radical associated with 蟹 is 虫 (insect). This radical appears in many characters related to insect.

What are the components of 蟹?

蟹 is composed of: 解 (phonetic), 虫 (semantic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱解虫 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 蟹?

Common words with 蟹 include: 螃蟹 (páng xiè, "crab"); 蟹肉 (xiè ròu, "crab meat"); 寄居蟹 (jì jū xiè, "hermit crab"); 蟹黄 (xiè huáng, "the ovary and digestive glands of a female crab (eaten as a delicacy)"); 相手蟹 (xiāng shǒu xiè, "crab of family Sesarmidae"). There are over 29 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 蟹 (xiè)?

Several characters share the pronunciation xiè: 懈 (lax). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 蟹 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 蟹 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 蟹 with real-time feedback

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