CJK Unified Ideograph-87F3

It names a marine crab, especially in regional seafood vocabulary.

The earliest evidence verified here is a 1596 Ming Fujian work, 《閩中海錯疏》, which lists 海蟳 as 蝤蛑 and separates it from 蠘. It was a working fisherman's label: point at an edible sea crab and get the right one to the table. That makes 蟳 an evolved regional name, not an invented sign.

Later dictionaries keep the gloss “marine crab,” but the flavor changes by language. Mandarin treats xun as a specialist term; Taiwan’s education dictionary gives tsîm plus a whole menu — 紅蟳, 菜蟳, 蟳膏. As of 2026, it also records a proverb that uses 蟳膏 to tease someone hollow inside.

Someone sent 蟳, crab or mood?

Crab. Literal crab, not a mood.

In a Taiwanese food chat it can mean the animal, the dish, or a roe-rich female crab such as 紅蟳. In a Japanese seafood message, read it as gazami. Anywhere else it is a deliberately specific, slightly show-off word — use 螃蟹 or 蟹 if you want every Mandarin reader to follow.

How do I type 蟳 with xun or Cangjie?

Type Mandarin xun, or Cangjie LISMI.

Type xun and hunt through the candidate list; rare characters love to hide near the bottom. On a Cangjie keyboard enter LISMI. Japanese dictionary readings jin and gazami will not summon it in a Mandarin IME. If it still hides, copy it from the palette above.