蛀蚀
zhù​shí

eat away

蛀 zhù insects that eat books

Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 主 represents the sound.

Components

虫
虫 Meaning component
chóng bug, insect
主
主 Sound component
zhǔ master

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangtjos

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

蚀 shí nibble away Simplified

An insect 虫 bite 饣; 饣 also provides the pronunciation

Components

饣
饣 SoundMeaning component
shí eat
虫
虫 Meaning component
chóng bug, insect

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

蝕 shí nibble away Traditional

An insect 虫 bite 飠; 飠 also provides the pronunciation

Components

飠
飠 SoundMeaning component
eat
虫
虫 Meaning component
chóng bug, insect

Character Evolution

Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartzyikmə-lək(eat:) eclipse
Zhengzhangɦljɯɡ
Unicodejhiək

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica