蛾

See also: 䖸

蛾 U+86FE, 蛾 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-86FE ← 蛽 [U+86FD] CJK Unified Ideographs 蛿 → [U+86FF]

Translingual

Han character

蛾 (Kangxi radical 142, 虫+7, 13 strokes, cangjie input 中戈竹手戈 (LIHQI), four-corner 5315₀, composition ⿰虫我)

Derived characters

• 𠏃

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1083, character 31
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 33082
• Dae Jaweon: page 1551, character 18
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2856, character 6
• Unihan data for U+86FE

Chinese

simp. and trad.		蛾
alternative forms		䖸 𧒎

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (我) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
莪	*ŋaːl
哦	*ŋaːl
娥	*ŋaːl
峨	*ŋaːl
峩	*ŋaːl
鵝	*ŋaːl
俄	*ŋaːl
蛾	*ŋaːl, *ŋralʔ
睋	*ŋaːl
涐	*ŋaːl
誐	*ŋaːl
硪	*ŋaːl, *ŋaːlʔ
我	*ŋaːlʔ
騀	*ŋaːlʔ
餓	*ŋaːls
義	*ŋrals
儀	*ŋral
轙	*ŋral, *ŋralʔ
檥	*ŋral, *ŋralʔ
蟻	*ŋralʔ
艤	*ŋralʔ
礒	*ŋralʔ
羛	*ŋralʔ, *hŋral
議	*ŋrals
犧	*hŋral
曦	*hŋral
羲	*hŋral

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *ŋaːl, *ŋralʔ): semantic 虫 (“insect”) + phonetic 我 (OC *ŋaːlʔ).

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): é (e²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄜˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngo⁴
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): ngò
• Jin (Wiktionary): ghe¹
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): gô / ngô͘ / ia̍h

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ngo⁵

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: é
    • Zhuyin: ㄜˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: é
    • Wade–Giles: o²
    • Yale: é
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: er
    • Palladius: э (e)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀɤ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: ngo⁴
    • Yale: ngòh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngo⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngo⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋɔː²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngò
    • Hakka Romanization System: ngo^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ngo²
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋo¹¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: ghe¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /ɣɤ¹¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gô
    • Tâi-lô: gô
    • Phofsit Daibuun: gooi
    • IPA (Taipei, Xiamen): /ɡo²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡo¹³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡɤ²³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ngô͘
    • Tâi-lô: ngôo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ngoo
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ŋɔ̃²³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Taipei): /ŋɔ̃²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ia̍h
    • Tâi-lô: ia̍h
    • Phofsit Daibuun: iah
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /iaʔ⁴/

Note: ia̍h - 蝶 is used in the Mainland.

• • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ngo⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: ngô
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋo⁵⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: nga

Rime
Character	蛾
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	疑 (31)
Final (韻)	歌 (94)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	五何切
Baxter	nga
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ŋɑ/
Pan Wuyun	/ŋɑ/
Shao Rongfen	/ŋɑ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ŋa/
Li Rong	/ŋɑ/
Wang Li	/ŋɑ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ŋɑ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	é
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ngo4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*ŋˤaj/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ŋaːl/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	蛾
Reading #	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	é
Middle Chinese	‹ nga ›
Old Chinese	/*ŋˁaj/
English	silkworm moth [Bombyx]
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	蛾
Reading #	1/2
No.	13036
Phonetic component	我
Rime group	歌
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	莪
Old Chinese	/*ŋaːl/
Notes	見荀子，說文下從二蟲

Definitions

蛾

1. moth (insect of the order Lepidoptera)

   • 秋八月，有白蛾群飛蔽日，從東都門至枳道。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     秋八月，有白蛾群飞蔽日，从东都门至枳道。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Book of Han, circa 1^st century CE

     Qiū bāyuè, yǒu bái é qúnfēi bìrì, cóng dōng dōu mén zhì zhǐdào. [Pinyin]

     In the eighth month of autumn, a swarm of white moths obscured the sun from the eastern capital gate up to Orange Road.

   • 悄悄月侵牖，蕭蕭風振柯。關心十年事，坐數撲燈蛾。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

     From: 《石州集/석주집》, 1631

     Chocho wol chim yu, soso pung jin ga. Gwansim sip nyeon sa, jwa su bak deung a. [Sino-Korean]

     The silent moonlight seeps through the window,
     The desolate wind tilts at the branches.
     My mind entangled in the past ten years,
     I sit and count the moths hitting the lamp.

2. short for 蛾眉 (éméi)
3. a surname

Synonyms

• (moth):

edit

• 撲棱蛾子 / 扑棱蛾子 (pūlēng'ézi) (Northern China, dialectal Mandarin)
• 白翼仔 (Hakka)
• 翼 (Teochew)
• 蛾子 (ézi)
• 蝶仔 (Hokkien)
• 飛蛾 / 飞蛾 (fēi'é)

Compounds

• 卷葉蛾 / 卷叶蛾 (juǎnyè'é)
• 夜蛾 (yè'é)
• 天蛾 (tiān'é)
• 天蠶蛾 / 天蚕蛾
• 尺蠖蛾
• 巴蛾
• 撲燈蛾 / 扑灯蛾
• 斜紋夜蛾 / 斜纹夜蛾
• 月形天蠶蛾 / 月形天蚕蛾 (yuèxíng tiāncán'é)
• 海蛾魚 / 海蛾鱼
• 淡掃蛾眉 / 淡扫蛾眉
• 煙夜蛾 / 烟夜蛾
• 燈蛾 / 灯蛾
• 燈蛾撲火 / 灯蛾扑火
• 畫黛彎蛾 / 画黛弯蛾 (huàdàiwān'é)
• 皓齒蛾眉 / 皓齿蛾眉
• 紅粉青蛾 / 红粉青蛾
• 綠慘雙蛾 / 绿惨双蛾
• 羽蛾 (yǔ'é)
• 自然蛾眉
• 蛾妝 / 蛾妆
• 蛾子 (ézi)
• 蛾眉 (éméi)
• 蛾眉月 (éméiyuè)
• 蛾眉班
• 蛾眉皓齒 / 蛾眉皓齿
• 蛾眉螓首
• 蛾眉豆
• 蛾綠 / 蛾绿 (élǜ)
• 螢蛾 / 萤蛾
• 螟蛾 (míng'é)
• 螓首蛾眉
• 蠶蛾 / 蚕蛾 (cán'é)
• 衣蛾
• 雙蛾 / 双蛾
• 顰蛾眉 / 颦蛾眉
• 飛蛾 / 飞蛾 (fēi'é)
• 飛蛾投火 / 飞蛾投火
• 飛蛾投焰 / 飞蛾投焰
• 飛蛾撲火 / 飞蛾扑火 (fēi'épūhuǒ)
• 飛蛾赴火 / 飞蛾赴火
• 飛蛾赴焰 / 飞蛾赴焰
• 飛蛾赴燭 / 飞蛾赴烛
• 鳳蛾 / 凤蛾 (fèngé)
• 黛蛾

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 蛾 – see 蟻 (“ant; foam or sediment in wine; lees; etc.”). (This character is a variant form of 蟻).