蠹

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insect that eats into books, clothing etc; moth-eaten; worm-eaten

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

虫 meaning “insect” + 橐 sound ( tuó )

Components 橐虫 ×2

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
流水不腐，户枢不蠹	liú shuǐ bù fǔ , hù shū bù dù	lit. flowing water does not rot, nor a door-hinge rust (idiom); fig. constant activity pre…
蠹国害民	dù guó hài mín	to rob the state and hurt the people (idiom)
蠹鱼子	dù yú zi	silverfish; CL:隻\|只[zhi1]
蠹众木折	dù zhòng mù zhé	Danger appears where many harmful factors exist. (idiom)
国蠹	guó dù	traitor; public enemy
小蠹	xiǎo dù	bark beetle (zoology)
书蠹	shū dù	bookworm (literal and figurative); book louse; pedant
蠹鱼	dù yú	silverfish; CL:隻\|只[zhi1]
蠹政	dù zhèng	parasitic government
蠹虫	dù chóng	moth; harmful person; vermin
户枢不蠹	hù shū bù dù	lit. a door hinge never becomes worm-eaten; constant activity prevents decay (idiom)
蠹害	dù hài	to harm; to endanger
齿蠹	chǐ dù	(archaic) tooth decay
蠹简	dù jiǎn	old worm-eaten books
巨蠹	jù dù	public enemy number one
木蠹蛾	mù dù é	wood moth; carpenter moth; CL:隻\|只[zhi1]
禄蠹	lù dù	sinecurist
苹果蠹蛾	píng guǒ dù é	codling moth (Cydia pomonella)
蠹弊	dù bì	malpractice; abuse; corrupt practice
蠹吏	dù lì	corrupt officials