蚤 zǎo — flea · English

蚤

zǎo

flea

At a glance · 蚤

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

甲骨文象跳蚤之形，头大身小有足，本义为跳蚤。小篆讹变，隶楷作「蚤」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为跳蚤，古亦假借为「早」。

Structure

象形字，甲骨文象虫形；从虫（意符），叉（zhǎo）亦表声。

At a glance

Pinyinzǎo

Radical虫

Strokes10

UnicodeU+86A4

Character type象形

Theme动物

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English flea A flea; anciently borrowed for "early".

Français puce Une puce ; emprunté anciennement pour « tôt ».

Español pulga Una pulga; antiguamente préstamo de «temprano».

العربية برغوث البرغوث؛ استُعير قدماً لـ«مبكر».

Русский блоха Блоха; в древности заимствовалось для «ранний».

Common words

蚤zǎoearly/flea
蚤凋zǎo diāoearly wither

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