Chinese symbol for “cocoon”
茧
jiǎn
Traditional: 繭
(bound form) cocoon; (bound form) callus (variant of 趼 (jiǎn))
The closest CC-CEDICT match for cocoon is 茧 (jiǎn), defined as: (bound form) cocoon; (bound form) callus (variant of 趼 (jiǎn)).
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
Related words
Other words that share a character with 茧.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 作茧自缚 (作繭自縛) | zuò jiǎn zì fù | to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising; hoist by his own petard |
| 蚕茧 (蠶繭) | cán jiǎn | silkworm cocoon |
| 老茧 (老繭) | lǎo jiǎn | callus (patch or hardened skin); corns (on feet) |
| 茧子 (繭子) | jiǎn zi | callus (patch or hardened skin); corns (on feet) |
| 抽丝剥茧 (抽絲剝繭) | chōu sī bō jiǎn | (lit.) to unwind the silk thread from the cocoon (idiom); (fig.) to unravel a mystery; to painstakingly follow the clues to eventually get t |
| 作茧 (作繭) | zuò jiǎn | to make a cocoon |
See also: Japanese symbol for “cocoon”.
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.