蝇 (yíng): fly, musca, CL:隻|只
蝇 (yíng) is a Chinese character meaning “fly.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 虫 (structural) and 黾 (structural). It ranks #2582 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 蝇 insects 虫 that toads 黾 feed on. Its radical form 虫 (insect) appears in many related characters such as 蛋 (dàn, egg), 虽 (suī, although), 虫 (chóng, insect).
Definitions
- fly
- musca
- CL:隻|只
Etymology & Origin
ideographicInsects 虫 that toads 黾 feed on
Decomposition: ⿰虫黾 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 蝇 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 苍蝇 | cāng ying | housefly |
| 果蝇 | guǒ yíng | fruit fly |
| 苍蝇拍 | cāng ying pāi | flyswatter |
| 蝇头小利 | yíng tóu xiǎo lì | (idiom) meager profit |
| 蝇营狗苟 | yíng yíng gǒu gǒu | lit. to swarm like flies around rotten food and drag out an ignoble existence like a dog (idiom) |
| 家蝇 | jiā yíng | house fly |
| 没头苍蝇 | méi tóu cāng ying | see 無頭蒼蠅|无头苍蝇[wu2 tou2 cang1 ying5] |
| 无头苍蝇 | wú tóu cāng ying | headless fly (a metaphor for sb who is rushing around frantically) |
| 蝇子 | yíng zi | housefly |
| 如蝇逐臭 | rú yíng zhú chòu | like flies pursuing a stink (idiom) |
| 苍蝇不叮无缝蛋 | cāng ying bù dīng wú fèng dàn | lit. flies do not attack an intact egg (idiom) |
| 苍蝇老虎 | cāng ying lǎo hǔ | (coll.) jumping spider (which pounces on houseflies, hence the Chinese name) |
| 捕蝇草 | bǔ yíng cǎo | Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) |
| 苍蝇座 | cāng ying zuò | Musca (constellation) |
| 毒蝇伞 | dú yíng sǎn | fly Amanita or fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) |
蝇 appears in 16 compound words: 25 as the first character, 31 as the last, and 44 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 蝇 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
like flies pursuing a stink (idiom); the mob chases the rich and powerful; the crowd runs after trash
like flies pursuing a stink (idiom); the mob chases the rich and powerful; the crowd runs after trash
Example Sentences
老师教我们蝇字的发音和笔顺。
lǎo shī jiào wǒ men yíng zì de fā yīn hé bǐ shùn .
The teacher taught us the pronunciation and stroke order of the character "fly."
...水“怪兽仓”两幼犬被困笼内 一狗断尾惹乌蝇 区议员联络仓主无果报警求助
. . . shuǐ guài shòu cāng liǎng yòu quǎn bèi kùn lóng nèi yī gǒu duàn wěi rě wū yíng qū yì yuán lián lào cāng zhǔ wú guǒ bào jǐng qiú zhù
...Two puppies trapped in a "monster kennel" by the water; one dog's severed tail attracted flies. A district council member contacted the kennel owner but, having failed to reach a resolution, called the police for help.
...生半年卖出800多只点翠大蟑螂,还推出苍蝇胸针、..
. . . shēng bàn nián mài chū 8 0 0 duō zhī diǎn cuì dà 蟑 螂 , hái tuī chū cāng yíng xiōng zhēn , . .
... More than 800 large cockroaches were sold in half a year, and fly brooches were also launched、..
光阴飞逝如箭; 果蝇喜欢香蕉。
Guāngyīn fēishì rú jiàn; guǒyíng xǐhuan xiāngjiāo.
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
老鹰不会去抓苍蝇。
Lǎoyīng bù huì qù zhuā cāngying.
The eagle does not catch flies.
天花板上面有只苍蝇。
Tiānhuābǎn shàngmiàn yǒu zhī cāngying.
There is a fly on the ceiling.
苍蝇和蚊子干扰了他的冥想。
Cāngying hé wénzi gānrǎo le tā de míngxiǎng.
Flies and mosquitoes interfered with his meditation.
他把苍蝇拍走了。
Tā bǎ cāngyingpāi zǒu le.
He flapped the flies away.
面汤里有个苍蝇。
Miàntāng lǐ yǒu gè cāngying.
There's a fly in the noodle broth.
法网就像蜘蛛网，网得住苍蝇蚊子，网不住豺狼老虎。
Fǎwǎng jiù xiàng zhīzhūwǎng, wǎng de zhù cāngying wénzi, wǎng bù zhù cháiláng lǎohǔ.
Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 蝇 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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