Chinese symbol for “cicada”
蝉
chán
Traditional: 蟬
cicada
The closest CC-CEDICT match for cicada is 蝉 (chán), defined as: cicada.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “cicada”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 蜩 | tiáo | cicada |
| 知了 | zhī liǎo | cicada (onom.) |
| 蟭蟟 | jiāo liáo | cicada (old) |
| 螀 (螿) | jiāng | cicada (Cosmopsaltria opalifera) |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 蝉.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 蝉联 (蟬聯) | chán lián | to continue in a post; (to hold a post) several times in succession |
| 寒蝉 (寒蟬) | hán chán | a cicada in cold weather (used as a metaphor for sb who keeps their thoughts to themself); Meimuna opalifera, a kind of cicada found in East |
| 蝉鸣 (蟬鳴) | chán míng | song of cicadas; chirping of insects |
| 蝉翼 (蟬翼) | chán yì | cicada's wing |
| 金蝉脱壳 (金蟬脫殼) | jīn chán tuō qiào | lit. the cicada sheds its carapace (idiom); fig. to vanish leaving an empty shell; a crafty escape plan |
| 噤若寒蝉 (噤若寒蟬) | jìn ruò hán chán | to keep quiet out of fear (idiom) |
See also: Japanese symbol for “cicada”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.