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冬蟲夏草

简冬虫夏草 · 繁冬蟲夏草

Mandarin · pinyin dōng chóng xià cǎo

caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) (The fungus grows within the body of a caterpillar, culminating in the emergence of a stalked fruiting body from the caterpillar's head, and is a much-prized and expensive ingredient used as a tonic in traditional Chinese medicine.)

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Characters in this entry

冬: dōng · winter, 11th lunar month
蟲: chóng · worms; insects
夏: xià · summer; great, grand, big
草: cǎo · grass, straw, thatch, herbs
虫: chóng · insects, worms; Kangxi radical 142

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–3 · dong1 chong2 xia4 cao3

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

dung1 cung4 haa6 cou2

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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