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螵蛸

Mandarin · pinyin piāo xiāo

ootheca, i.e. eggs in their capsule, of a praying mantis (used in TCM)
cuttlebone (abbr. for 海螵蛸 hǎi piāo xiāo)

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Characters in this entry

螵: piāo · a chrysalis
蛸: shāo · long legged spider; octopus; chrysalis of mantis

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1 · piao1 xiao1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

piu1 siu1

Cantonese word readings for 螵蛸. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

egg-case of the praying mantis
(literary) short for 海螵蛸 (hǎipiāoxiāo, “cuttlebone”)

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

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