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螢

Firefly

On’yomiけい
Kun’yomiほたる
16 strokes Radical 虫 insect
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 螢

Stroke order is not decoration — it determines how the character looks handwritten and how dictionaries index it.

螢
16 strokes
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分解 · What it is made of

The parts of 螢

Almost every kanji is built from a small set of reusable parts. Learn the parts once and you stop memorising thousands of unrelated shapes.

𤇾 top
+ 虫 radical insect =
螢Firefly
部首 · Radical

The radical of 螢

虫 Radical 142 of 214
Insect

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 螢 is filed under 虫 (insect) — radical number 142 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 虫

練習 · Practice

Drill 螢 right now

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螢Tap to reveal
Firefly けい ほたる
螢
What does it mean?
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Which kanji is it?
熟語 · In real words

Words that use 螢

Kanji are almost never met alone. These are the most common words built from this character, ordered by how often they actually appear in Japanese.

螢光灯 けいこうとう fluorescent lamp; fluorescent light; person who is slow to react
螢光燈 けいこうとう fluorescent lamp; fluorescent light; person who is slow to react
螢光 けいこう fluorescence
螢火 ホタルビ glow of a firefly; nearly extinguished fire, embers
螢袋 ホタルブクロ bellflower

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質問 · Questions

About the kanji 螢

What does the kanji 螢 mean?

螢 means Firefly.

How do you read the kanji 螢?

螢 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) けい; kun'yomi (native Japanese) ほたる.

How many strokes does 螢 have?

螢 is written with 16 strokes. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What is the radical of 螢?

The radical of 螢 is 虫 (insect), radical number 142 of the 214 Kangxi radicals. The radical is the component a dictionary files the character under, and it usually points at the character's meaning.

What parts is the kanji 螢 made of?

螢 is built from 𤇾 and 虫 (insect). Learning kanji as combinations of a few hundred reusable components is far more efficient than memorising each character as a separate shape.

What words use the kanji 螢?

Common words written with 螢 include 螢光灯 (けいこうとう, fluorescent lamp; fluorescent light; person who is slow to react); 螢光燈 (けいこうとう, fluorescent lamp; fluorescent light; person who is slow to react); 螢光 (けいこう, fluorescence).

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