Dictionary › 蝉

蝉

chán

Character Traditional 蟬

What 蝉 means

1. cicada

Example sentences

• 蝉破土而出后，会蜕皮，等待身体干燥变硬，然后飞到树顶觅食和寻找配偶，它们通过发出响亮的蝉鸣来寻找配偶。
  Once out of the ground, the cicadas molt and wait for their bodies to dry and harden, then they fly to the tops of trees where they feed and look for a mate, which they do by making a loud buzz.

Words starting with 蝉

• 蝉联chán liánto continue in a post; (to hold a post) several times in succession…
• 蝉鸣chán míngsong of cicadas; chirping of insects
• 蝉猴chán hóu(colloquial) newly-emerged cicada nymph
• 蝉科chán kēCicadidae, homopterous insect family including cicada
• 蝉翼chán yìcicada's wing
• 蝉虾chán xiāslipper lobster (family Scyllaridae)
• 蝉衣chán yīcicada slough (used in TCM)
• 蝉蜕chán tuìcicada slough; fig. to free oneself; to extricate oneself from

Words containing 蝉

• 寒蝉hán chána cicada in cold weather…
• 貂蝉Diāo ChánDiaochan (-192), one of the four legendary beauties 四大美女
• 金蝉Jīn chánGolden Cicada
• 寒蝉效应hán chán xiào yìngthe chilling effect of a climate of fear in which people are afraid to speak their mind
• 金蝉脱壳jīn chán tuō qiàolit. the cicada sheds its carapace (idiom); fig. to vanish leaving an empty shell…
• 噤若寒蝉jìn ruò hán chánto keep quiet out of fear (idiom)
• 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后táng láng bǔ chán , huáng què zài hòu(lit.) the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the siskin behind…
• 螳螂捕蝉táng láng bǔ chánsee 螳螂捕蟬，螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后

Characters built on 单

These share the phonetic component 单 (dān), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 弹dàncrossball; bullet; shot
• 阐chǎnto express; to disclose; to enlighten
• 禅chándhyana (Sanskrit); Zen; meditation (Buddhism)
• 惮dàndread; fear; dislike
• 掸dǎnto brush away; to dust off; brush
• 郸dānused in place names 邯郸
• 殚dānentirely; to exhaust
• 婵chánused in 婵娟

Characters that look like 蝉

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 碑bēia monument; an upright stone tablet; stele
• 摔shuāito throw down; to fall; to drop and break
• 缚fùto bind; to tie; Taiwan pr. fú
• 榉jǔZeikowa acuminata
• 稗bàibarnyard millet (Echinochloa crus-galli); Panicum crus-galli; (literary) insignificant
• 嫦chángused in 嫦娥; used in female given names

Sounds the same

Read chán, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 缠to wind around; to wrap round; to coil
• 馋gluttonous; greedy; to have a craving
• 禅dhyana (Sanskrit); Zen; meditation (Buddhism)
• 澶still (as of water); still water
• 单used in 单于
• 婵used in 婵娟
• 蟾toad ("chán" represents the sound of its croaking)…
• 谗to slander; to defame; to misrepresent
• 潺flow; trickle (of water)
• 巉(literary) steep; rugged; jagged; precipitous
• 毚cunning; artful
• 磛cliff; peak