Word information
Simplified螵蛸
Traditional螵蛸
Pinyinpiāo xiāo
Part of speechDictionary
HSK 3.0Not listed
HSK 2.0Not listed
Chinese word dictionary
螵蛸
piāo xiāo · ootheca, i.e. eggs in their capsule, of a praying mantis (used in TCM); cuttlebone (abbr. for 海螵蛸[hai3 piao1 xiao1])
Character breakdown
Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.
How to learn 螵蛸
Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.
When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.