蜗

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snail; Taiwan pr. [gua1]; see 蝸牛|蜗牛[wo1 niu2]

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

虫 meaning “mollusk” + 呙 sound ( wāi )

Components 虫呙

snail · Heisig RSH #2368

虫 insect + esophagus

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
人工耳蜗	rén gōng ěr wō	cochlear implant
非洲大蜗牛	Fēi zhōu dà wō niú	giant African snail (Lissachatina fulica)
蜗行牛步	wō xíng niú bù	lit. to crawl like a snail and plod along like an old ox (idiom); fig. to move at a snail'…
无壳蜗牛	wú ké wō niú	fig. people who cannot afford to buy their own house
蜗行	wō xíng	to advance at a snail's pace
蚁斗蜗争	yǐ dòu wō zhēng	lit. the ant fights, the snail contends (idiom); fig. petty squabbling
蜗牛	wō niú	snail; Taiwan pr. [gua1 niu2]
耳蜗	ěr wō	(anatomy) cochlea
蜗杆副	wō gǎn fù	worm-gear pair; worm drive; worm and worm gear
蜗居	wō jū	humble abode; to live (in a tiny, cramped space)
蜗旋	wō xuán	to spiral
蜗杆	wō gǎn	worm (mechanical engineering)
蜗窗	wō chuāng	(anatomy) round window (one of the two openings from the middle ear into the inner ear)
蜗庐	wō lú	humble abode
蜗蜒	wō yán	snail

Characters sharing the sound component 呙 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
呙 sound part	wāi	to chat, to gossip, to jaw, to talk; mouth
锅	guō	cooking-pot, saucepan
窝	wō	cave, den, nest; hiding place; measure word for small animals
祸	huò	misfortune, disaster, calamity
剐	guǎ	to cut; to sever flesh from bone
娲	wā	a goddess, the mythological sister and successor to Fuxi
莴	wō	lettuce
埚	guō	crucible
脶	luó	fingerprint