虺

See also: 蝰

虺 U+867A, 虺 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-867A ← 虹 [U+8679] CJK Unified Ideographs 虻 → [U+867B]

Translingual

Han character

虺 (Kangxi radical 142, 虫+3, 9 strokes, cangjie input 一山中一戈 (MULMI), four-corner 1521₃, composition ⿺兀虫)

Derived characters

• 𣸀, 𩄁

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1077, character 3
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 32833
• Dae Jaweon: page 1545, character 26
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2834, character 15
• Unihan data for U+867A

Chinese

simp. and trad.		虺
alternative forms		虫 ancient 螝 𩗝 𡯥 𧉇

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (兀) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
虺	*hŋuːl, *hŋruːl, *hŋlulʔ
豗	*hŋuːl
鼿	*hŋuːl, *ŋuːd
虫	*hŋlulʔ
髡	*ŋ̊ʰuːn
軏	*ŋod, *ŋuːd
扤	*ŋod, *ŋuːd
兀	*ŋuːd
杌	*ŋuːd
屼	*ŋuːd
矹	*ŋluːd

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hŋuːl, *hŋruːl, *hŋlulʔ) : phonetic 兀 (OC *ŋuːd) + semantic 虫.

Etymology

“venomous snake”

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-b/m-ruːl (“snake”). Cognate with Tibetan སྦྲུལ (sbrul), Japhug qapri, Chepang रु (ru), Burmese မြွေ (mrwe), S'gaw Karen ဂုၢ် (ghu̱).

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): huǐ (hui³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄨㄟˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): wai²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): húi

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hui²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: huǐ
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄨㄟˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: huěi
    • Wade–Giles: hui³
    • Yale: hwěi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hoei
    • Palladius: хуэй (xuej)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: wai²
    • Yale: wái
    • Cantonese Pinyin: wai²
    • Guangdong Romanization: wei²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /wɐi̯³⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: húi
    • Tâi-lô: huí
    • Phofsit Daibuun: huie
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hui⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hui⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hui⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hui⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hui⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hui²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: húi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hui⁵²/

---

• Middle Chinese: xjw+jX

Rime
Character	虺
Reading #	3/3
Initial (聲)	曉 (32)
Final (韻)	微 (21)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	許偉切
Baxter	xjw+jX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/hʉiX/
Pan Wuyun	/hʷɨiX/
Shao Rongfen	/xiuəiX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/hujX/
Li Rong	/xiuəiX/
Wang Li	/xĭwəiX/
Bernard Karlgren	/xwe̯iX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	huǐ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	fai2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[r̥]u[j]ʔ/, /*r̥u[j]ʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*hŋlulʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	虺	虺
Reading #	2/3	3/3
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	huǐ	huǐ
Middle Chinese	‹ xjwɨjX ›	‹ xjwɨjX ›
Old Chinese	/*[r̥]u[j]ʔ/ (W dialect: *r̥- > MC x-)	/*r̥u[j]ʔ/ (W dialect: *r̥- > MC x-)
English	snake-brood	sound of thunder
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	虺
Reading #	3/3
No.	13193
Phonetic component	兀
Rime group	微
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	虺
Old Chinese	/*hŋlulʔ/

Definitions

虺

1. (Chinese mythology) a kind of venomous snake

   • 吉夢維何、
     維熊維羆、
     維虺維蛇。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     吉梦维何、
     维熊维罴、
     维虺维蛇。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Jí mèng wéi hé,
     Wéi xióng wéi pí,
     Wéi huǐ wéi shé. [Pinyin]

     What dreams are lucky?
     They have been about black bears and brown bears,
     They have been about asps and adders.

   • 1919, 《新舊約全書：官話和合譯本》 [Mandarin Bible, Union Version], Shanghai: American Bible Society:

     但必作道上的蛇、路中的虺、咬傷馬蹄、使騎馬的墜落於後。 [MSC, trad.]
     但必作道上的蛇、路中的虺、咬伤马蹄、使骑马的坠落于后。 [MSC, simp.]

     Dàn bì zuò dào shang de shé, lù zhōng de huǐ, yǎoshāng mǎtí, shǐ qímǎ de zhuìluò yú hòu. [Pinyin]

     Dan will be a serpent on the trail, an adder in the path, that bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward. [World English Bible]

2. (Waxiang) snake

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 蛇 (“snake”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		蛇
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		蛇
Taxonomic name		蛇
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	蛇, 長蟲
	Taiwan	蛇
	Chengde	長蟲
	Ulanhot	長蟲
	Tongliao	長蟲
	Chifeng	蛇, 長蟲
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	蛇, 長蟲, 大蟲
	Heihe	蛇, 長蟲
	Qiqihar	蛇, 長蟲
	Harbin	蛇, 長蟲
	Jiamusi	蛇, 長蟲
	Baicheng	蛇, 長蟲
	Changchun	長蟲
	Tonghua	長蟲
	Shenyang	蛇, 長蟲
	Jinzhou	蛇, 長蟲
	Malaysia	蛇
	Singapore	蛇
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	長蟲
	Tangshan	蛇, 長蟲
	Cangzhou	長蟲
	Baoding	長蟲
	Shijiazhuang	長蟲
	Lijin	長蟲
	Jinan	長蟲, 蛇
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	長蟲
	Dandong	蛇, 長蟲
	Yantai	長蟲
	Yantai (Muping)	長蟲
	Qingdao	長蟲
	Zhucheng	長蟲
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	長蟲
	Lingbao	蛇, 長蟲
	Jining	長蟲
	Wanrong	蛇
	Linfen	蛇
	Shangqiu	蛇, 長蟲
	Yuanyang	蛇
	Zhengzhou	長蟲
	Xinyang	長蟲
	Baihe	蛇, 長蟲
	Xi'an	蛇, 長蟲
	Baoji	長蟲
	Tianshui	蛇, 長蟲
	Xining	蛇
	Xuzhou	蛇, 長蟲
	Fuyang	蛇
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	蛇
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	蛇, 長蟲
	Bayanhot	蛇
	Lanzhou	蛇, 長蟲
	Dunhuang	蛇, 長蟲
	Hami	長蟲
	Ürümqi	長蟲, 蛇
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	蛇, 梭老二, 長蟲
	Nanchong	蛇
	Dazhou	長蟲
	Hanyuan	蛇
	Xichang	蛇
	Zigong	蛇
	Chongqing	蛇, 螂雞兒
	Wuhan	蛇, 長蟲
	Yichang	蛇
	Xiangyang	蛇, 長蟲
	Tianmen	蛇
	Guiyang	老蛇
	Zunyi	蛇
	Bijie	老蛇
	Liping	蛇
	Zhaotong	老梭
	Dali	蛇
	Kunming	蛇, 長蟲
	Mengzi	蛇
	Guilin	蛇
	Liuzhou	蛇, 溜子 dated
	Jishou	蛇
	Changde	蛇
	Hanzhong	蛇, 長蟲
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	蛇兒, 蛇
	Yangzhou	蛇
	Lianyungang	蛇, 長蟲
	Lianshui	蛇
	Nantong	蛇, 長蟲
	Anqing	蛇
	Wuhu	蛇
	Hefei	蛇
	Hong'an	蛇
Cantonese	Guangzhou	蛇
	Hong Kong	蛇
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	蛇
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	蛇
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	蛇
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	蛇
	Macau	蛇
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	蛇
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	蛇
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	蛇
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	蛇
	Foshan	蛇
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	蛇
	Foshan (Shunde)	蛇
	Foshan (Sanshui)	蛇
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	蛇
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	蛇
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	蛇
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	蛇
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	蛇
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	蛇
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	蛇
	Taishan	蛇
	Kaiping (Chikan)	蛇
	Enping (Niujiang)	蛇
	Heshan (Yayao)	蛇
	Dongguan	蛇
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	蛇
	Shenzhen (Dapeng)	蛇
	Qingyuan	蛇
	Fogang	蛇
	Yingde (Hanguang)	蛇
	Yangshan	蛇
	Lianshan (Butian)	蛇
	Lianzhou (Qingshui Sihui)	蛇
	Shaoguan	蛇
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	蛇
	Renhua	蛇
	Lechang	蛇
	Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)	蛇
	Sihui	蛇
	Guangning	蛇
	Deqing	蛇
	Huaiji	蛇
	Fengkai (Nanfeng)	蛇
	Yunfu	蛇
	Xinxing	蛇
	Luoding	蛇
	Yunan (Pingtai)	蛇
	Yangjiang	蛇
	Xinyi	蛇
	Lianjiang	蛇
	Nanning	蛇
	Wuzhou	蛇
	Yulin	蛇, 長蟲
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	蛇
	Danzhou	蛇
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	蛇
	Singapore (Guangfu)	蛇
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	蛇
Gan	Nanchang	蛇
	Lichuan	蛇
	Pingxiang	蛇
Hakka	Meixian	蛇哥
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	蛇, 蛇哥
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	蛇
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	蛇
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	蛇
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	蛇
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	蛇
	Wuhua (Changbu)	蛇
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	蛇
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	蛇
	Jiexi	蛇
	Luhe	蛇
	Yudu	蛇
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	蛇哥
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	蛇哥
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	蛇, 蛇哥
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	蛇, 蛇哥
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	蛇
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	蛇
	Hong Kong	蛇哥
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	蛇
	Sabah (Longchuan)	蛇哥, 蛇
	Senai (Huiyang)	蛇
	Singkawang	蛇
Huizhou	Jixi	蛇
	Shexian	蛇
	Huangshan (Tunxi)	蛇
	Xiuning	蛇
	Yixian	蛇
	Qimen	蛇
	Wuyuan	蛇
	Fuliang	蛇
	Dexing	蛇
Jin	Taiyuan	蛇
	Pingyao	蛇
	Yangyuan	蛇
	Datong	蛇, 皮條
	Xinzhou	蛇
	Lüliang (Lishi)	蛇
	Changzhi	蛇, 長蟲
	Taibus (Baochang)	蛇
	Linhe	蛇, 長蟲
	Jining	蛇
	Hohhot	蛇
	Baotou	蛇
	Dongsheng	蛇
	Haibowan	蛇
	Erenhot	蛇
	Pingshan	長蟲
	Zhangjiakou	蛇, 長蟲
	Handan	蛇, 長蟲
	Linzhou	蛇
	Suide	蛇
Northern Min	Jian'ou	蛇
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	蛇
	Zhenghe (Zhenqian)	蛇
	Pucheng (Shibei)	蛇
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	老蛇, 蛇
	Fuzhou (Changle)	老蛇
	Fuqing	老蛇
	Yongtai	老蛇
	Gutian	老蛇
	Fu'an	老蛇
	Ningde	老蛇
	Shouning	老蛇
	Zhouning	老蛇
	Fuding	老蛇
	Matsu	老蛇
Southern Min	Xiamen	蛇
	Quanzhou	蛇
	Jinjiang	蛇
	Yongchun	蛇
	Zhangzhou	蛇
	Dongshan	蛇
	Taipei	蛇
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	蛇
	Kaohsiung	蛇
	Yilan	蛇
	Changhua (Lukang)	蛇
	Taichung	蛇
	Taichung (Wuqi)	蛇
	Tainan	蛇
	Taitung	蛇
	Hsinchu	蛇
	Kinmen	蛇
	Penghu (Magong)	蛇
	Penang (Hokkien)	蛇
	Singapore (Hokkien)	蛇
	Manila (Hokkien)	蛇
	Medan (Hokkien)	蛇
	Zhangping	蛇
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	蛇
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	蛇
	Chaozhou	蛇
	Raoping	蛇
	Shantou	蛇
	Bangkok (Teochew)	蛇
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	蛇
	Singapore (Teochew)	蛇
	Leizhou	蛇
	Wenchang	蛇
	Haikou	蛇
Puxian Min	Putian	大蛇, 蛇
	Putian (Donghai, Chengxiang)	大蛇, 蛇
	Putian (Jiangkou, Hanjiang)	老蛇
	Putian (Nanri, Xiuyu)	老蛇
	Xianyou	大蛇, 老蛇
	Xianyou (Fengting)	大蛇
	Xianyou (Youyang)	大蛇, 老蛇
Central Min	Yong'an	蛇
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	蛇
	Zhongshan (Sanxiang)	蛇
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	蛇
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	蛇
Shehua	Fu'an	老蛇
	Fuding	蛇
	Luoyuan	蛇
	Sanming	蛇
	Shunchang	蛇
	Hua'an	蛇
	Guixi (Zhangping)	蛇
	Cangnan	蛇
	Jingning (Hexi)	蛇
	Lishui	蛇
	Longyou	蛇
	Chaozhou	蛇
	Fengshun	蛇
Waxiang	Guzhang (Gaofeng)	虺
	Yuanling (Shaojiwan)	虺
	Luxi (Baisha)	虺
Wu	Shanghai	蛇, 水蛇
	Shanghai (Chongming)	蛇
	Suzhou	蛇
	Wuxi	蛇
	Danyang	蛇
	Hangzhou	蛇
	Ningbo	蛇
	Wenzhou	蛇
	Jinhua	蛇
Xiang	Changsha	蛇, 溜子, 臭溜子
	Xiangtan	蛇
	Loudi	蛇
	Shuangfeng	蛇, 溜子
	Quanzhou	蛇
Xiangnan Tuhua	Jiangyong	蛇
	Dong'an	蛇
Yuebei Tuhua	Shaoguan (Dacun, Baitu, Qujiang)	蛇
	Shaoguan (Xiangyang, Xihe, Wujiang)	蛇
	Shaoguan (Shibei, Xinshao, Zhenjiang)	蛇
	Renhua (Zhoutian)	蛇
	Renhua (Shitang)	蛇
	Ruyuan (Songwei, Guitou)	蛇
	Lechang (Changlai)	蛇
	Lechang (Beixiang)	蛇
	Lechang (Huangpu)	蛇
	Lechang (Guitang, Pingshi)	蛇
	Lechang (Sanxi)	蛇呱

Compounds

• 夢虺／梦虺
• 王虺
• 虺虺
• 虺蛇入夢／虺蛇入梦
• 虺蜴
• 虺蜮 (huǐyù)
• 虺豺 (huǐchái)
• 蟠虺紋／蟠虺纹 (pánhuǐwén)
• 養虺成蛇／养虺成蛇

 

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): huī (hui¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄨㄟ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fui¹
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hoe

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: huī
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄨㄟ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: huei
    • Wade–Giles: hui¹
    • Yale: hwēi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: huei
    • Palladius: хуэй (xuej)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xu̯eɪ̯⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: fui¹
    • Yale: fūi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fui¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: fui¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fuːi̯⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hoe
    • Tâi-lô: hue
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hoef
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hue⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hue³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hue⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hue⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hue⁴⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: xweaj, xwoj

Rime
Character	虺	虺
Reading #	1/3	2/3
Initial (聲)	曉 (32)	曉 (32)
Final (韻)	皆 (34)	灰 (42)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Closed
Division (等)	II	I
Fanqie	呼懷切	呼恢切
Baxter	xweaj	xwoj
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/hˠuɛi/	/huʌi/
Pan Wuyun	/hʷᵚæi/	/huoi/
Shao Rongfen	/xuɐi/	/xuɒi/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/hwəɨj/	/hwəj/
Li Rong	/xuɛi/	/xuᴀi/
Wang Li	/xwɐi/	/xuɒi/
Bernard Karlgren	/xwăi/	/xuɑ̆i/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	huāi	huī
Expected Cantonese Reflex	faai1	fui1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[r̥]ˤu[j]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*hŋuːl/, /*hŋruːl/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	虺
Reading #	1/3
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	huī
Middle Chinese	‹ xwoj ›
Old Chinese	/*[r̥]ˁu[j]/ (W dialect: *r̥- > MC x-)
English	exhausted, weary
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	虺	虺
Reading #	1/3	2/3
No.	13189	13192
Phonetic component	兀	兀
Rime group	微	微
Rime subdivision	2	2
Corresponding MC rime	灰	虺
Old Chinese	/*hŋuːl/	/*hŋruːl/

Definitions

虺

1. Used in 虺隤／虺𬯎 (“sick; ambitionless”).

Compounds

• 虺尵
• 虺穨／虺颓
• 虺虺 (huīhuī)
• 虺隤／虺𬯎
• 虺頽／虺颓

 

References

• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), B04215
• “虺”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

虺

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. large poisonous snake

Readings

• Go-on: け (ke)^{←け (ke, historical)←くゑ (kwe, ancient)}
• Kan-on: き (ki)^{←き (ki, historical)←くゐ (kwi, ancient)}
• Kun: まむし (mamushi, 虺)

Alternative forms

• (ancient form) 虫

Korean

Hanja

虺 • (hwe) (hangeul 훼, revised hwe, McCune–Reischauer hwe, Yale hwey)

1. viper
2. big snake

Vietnamese

Han character

虺: Hán Nôm readings: hủy/huỷ

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.