蝴蝶
Simplified 蝴蝶
Chinese character for butterfly: 蝴蝶 (húdié)
The Chinese word for butterfly is 蝴蝶 (húdié). Both characters are needed; together they are the everyday word for a butterfly. The butterfly is linked to love and to the famous dream of the philosopher Zhuangzi.
How 蝴蝶 is built
Both characters have 虫 (chóng), the insect radical, on the left, which tells you this is a small creature. 蝴 adds 胡 (hú) for the sound, and 蝶 adds 枼 (yè), which means thin leaves and helps with the sound. As a memory aid, a butterfly is an insect with wings as thin as leaves. Both are identical in simplified and traditional Chinese.
蝴 hú · butterfly
- 虫chóng — insect
- 中zhōng — central
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 中zhōng — central
- 胡hú — recklessly
- 古gǔ — old
- 十 — ten
- 口kǒu — mouth
- ⺼ — meat
- 古gǔ — old
蝶 dié · butterfly
- 虫chóng — insect
- 中zhōng — central
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 中zhōng — central
- 枼yè — table
- 世shì — generation
- 廿niàn — twenty
- 木mù — tree
- 十 — ten
- 八bā — eight
- 世shì — generation
How 蝴蝶 is used
蝴蝶húdiébutterfly
蝴蝶结húdiéjiébow (knot)
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: Use both characters 蝴蝶; 蝶 alone appears in poetry but most readers expect the full word.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for butterfly?
蝴蝶 (húdié) means “butterfly”.
How do you pronounce 蝴蝶?
蝴蝶 is pronounced húdié.