螺

螺 U+87BA, 螺 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-87BA ← 螹 [U+87B9] CJK Unified Ideographs 螻 → [U+87BB]

螺 U+F911, 螺 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F911 ← 蘿 [U+F910] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 裸 → [U+F912]

Translingual

Han character

螺 (Kangxi radical 142, 虫+11, 17 strokes, cangjie input 中戈田女火 (LIWVF), four-corner 5619₃, composition ⿰虫累)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1095, character 12
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 33512
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2885, character 5
• Unihan data for U+87BA

• Unihan data for U+F911

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		螺
alternative forms		蠃

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (畾) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
摞	*roːl, *roːls
騾	*roːl
螺	*roːl
蔂	*roːl, *rul
虆	*roːl, *rul
瘰	*roːlʔ
礌	*ruːl, *ruːls
雷	*ruːl
擂	*ruːl, *ruːls
攂	*ruːl, *ruːls
礧	*ruːll, *ruːlʔ, *ruːls
儡	*ruːl, *ruːlʔ, *ruːls
瓃	*ruːl, *rul, *ruls
櫑	*ruːl, *ruːlʔ
鑘	*ruːl, *ruːlʔ
鐳	*ruːl
畾	*ruːl
轠	*ruːl, *rulʔ
罍	*ruːl
蕾	*ruːlʔ
癗	*ruːlʔ
磥	*ruːlʔ
累	*ruːls, *rolʔ, *rols
儽	*ruːls, *rul
樏	*rolʔ, *rul
鸓	*rul, *rulʔ
嫘	*rul
纍	*rul, *ruls
欙	*rul
纝	*rul
壘	*rulʔ
櫐	*rulʔ
蘽	*rulʔ
藟	*rulʔ
讄	*rulʔ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *roːl) : semantic 虫 + phonetic 累 (OC *ruːls, *rolʔ, *rols).

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kroj (“shellfish, shell”). From the same root derives 蝸 (OC *kroːl, *kʷroːl, “terrestrial snail”).

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 螺

1. aquatic snail (as opposed to a terrestrial snail, 蝸／蜗 (wō))
2. whorl; swirl; spiral
3. fingerprint whorls
4. (organic chemistry) spiro-

   螺內酯／螺内酯  ―  luónèizhǐ  ―  spironolactone

5. (transgender slang) Short for 螺內酯／螺内酯 (luónèizhǐ, “spironolactone”); spiro
6. (historical) wine cup made from a snail shell
7. (historical) ink; pigment (green-black in color, produced from the snail, and used by women for drawing eyebrows)
8. Short for 螺髻 (“hair done up in a coil shape”).

See also

• (spiro): 補／补 (bǔ, “E”), 色 (sè, “cypro”)

References

• “螺”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• “Entry #12384”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

螺

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

1. spiral-shaped shellfish

Readings

• Go-on: ら (ra)
• Kan-on: ら (ra)
• Kun: つぶ (tsubu, 螺)、つび (tsubi, 螺)、つみ (tsumi, 螺)、にし (nishi, 螺)、にな (nina, 螺)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
螺
ら Jinmeiyō
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 螺 (lwa, “conch; spiral”).

Noun

螺(ら) • (ra) 

1. any shellfish with a spiral shell

Usage notes

In compounds, may lend meanings of either shell or spiral.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 螺階(らかい) (rakai): a spiral staircase
• 螺子(らし) (rashi): a screw (more commonly read as neji)
• 螺旋(らせん) (rasen): a spiral
• 螺鈿(らでん) (raden): mother of pearl
• 螺杯(らはい) (rahai), 螺盃(らはい) (rahai): a drinking cup made from the shell of a Turbo marmoratus or green turban snail
• 螺髪(らほつ) (rahotsu): one of the thirty-two different appearances of Buddha, shown in statuary with a hairstyle consisting of knobby spirals of hair
• 螺髻(らけい) (rakei): a hairstyle with the hair wrapped up in a spiral bun similar in shape to a conch shell; a high, verdant mountain

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
螺
つび Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Cognate with 粒 (tsubu, “grain; granule, little roundish bit of something”). May have originally been the standalone form; compare 神 (kamu, bound form, only used in compounds) and 神 (kami, standalone form).

Noun

螺(つび) • (tsubi) 

1. (obsolete) spiral shellfish, especially smaller ones
2. (obsolete) alternate name for 蛤 (hamaguri, “clam”)

Etymology 3

螺 (tsubu, tsubi, tsumi): a variety of whelks for sale.

Kanji in this term
螺
つぶ Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Cognate with 粒 (tsubu, “grain; granule, little roundish bit of something”). May have originally been the combining form; compare 神 (kamu, bound form, only used in compounds) and 神 (kami, standalone form).

Noun

螺(つぶ) • (tsubu) 

1. spiral shellfish, especially smaller ones
2. edible marine whelks of family Buccinidae
3. alternate name for 田螺 (tanishi): river snails of family Viviparidae

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 螺貝(つぶがい) (tsubugai): whelks and other spiral shellfish

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
螺
つみ Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

/t͡subi/ → /t͡sumi/

Shift in pronunciation from tsubi above.

Noun

螺(つみ) • (tsumi) 

1. (obsolete) spiral shellfish, especially smaller ones

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
螺
にし Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Previously referred to any shellfish with a spiral shell (see ra above). Now refers more specifically to certain spiral shellfish. More common in compounds.

Alternative forms

• 辛螺

Noun

螺(にし) • (nishi) 

1. (rare) certain shellfish with a spiral shell

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 螺肴(にしざかな) (nishizakana): a side dish served at New Years celebrations, made from boiled or stewed 田螺 (tanishi, “river snails of family Viviparidae”)

• 赤螺(あかにし) (akanishi): Rapana venosa, the veined rapa whelk
• 田螺(たにし) (tanishi): river snails of family Viviparidae
• 長螺(ながにし) (naganishi): tulip snails or spindle snails, marine snails of family Fasciolariidae
• 丸田螺(まるたにし) (marutanishi): Bellamya chinensis or Cipangopaludina chinensis, the Chinese mystery snail, black snail, or trapdoor snail

Synonyms

• 螺(にな) (nina) (see below), 蜷(にな) (nina), 河貝子(にな) (nina)

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
螺
にな Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese.

Less common spelling in modern Japanese. When written in kanji, more commonly spelled 蜷.

Alternative forms

• 蜷, 蝸螺, 河貝子

Noun

螺(にな) • (nina) 

1. shellfish with a spiral shell
2. Short for 川蜷. (kawanina): Semisulcospira libertina, a kind of freshwater snail

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 磯蜷(いそにな) (isonina): a small edible marine snail of family Buccinidae
• 海蜷(うみにな) (uminina): Batillaria multiformis, a small edible marine snail
• 川蜷(かわにな) (kawanina): Semisulcospira libertina, a kind of freshwater snail

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Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 螺 (MC lwa). Recorded as Middle Korean 라 (la) (Yale: la) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Wikisource

螺 (eumhun 소라 라 (sora ra), word-initial (South Korea) 소라 나 (sora na))

1. hanja form^? of 라/나 (“aquatic snail”)

Compounds

Compounds

• 나사 (螺絲, nasa, “screw”)
• 나선 (螺線, naseon, “spiral”)
• 나선 (螺旋, naseon, “a helix, a spiral”)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

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Vietnamese

Han character

螺: Hán Nôm readings: loa, loe

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.