Han character 蚲

蚲 is a rare Chinese character for a rice weevil, a beetle that infests stored grain.

Chinese dictionaries equate 蚲 with 蛘, and a Japanese kanji reference gives the same insect meaning. It is specialist dictionary vocabulary rather than a standard classroom character.

The Guangya, an early Chinese glossary, preserves the insect meaning. The Taiwan Ministry of Education's 2024 entry says 蚲 is not in Shuowen, another early dictionary, and equates it with 蛘. The left component 虫 marks an insect; 平 serves as a sound cue. Later dictionary material links 蚲 with 䗽, while the dictionary Pianhai and a clothing record in the history text Jinshu use it for a sword ornament.

Should I send 蚲 by itself?

A bare message is hard to decode; ask what the sender means.

Beside 蛘 or words about rice, it points to the insect. In the old sword passage, it means an ornament on a sword. Those are dictionary and historical contexts, not a settled everyday message.

Why does 蚲 look different or fail to type?

A missing or unfamiliar glyph usually points to the font or input method.

The 2024 Taiwan CNS 11643 entry shows Kai, Hei, and Song font forms and notes that a downloadable font package may be needed. A square is a display failure, not a different character.