蝨 (shī) - Louse — refers to parasitic insects like head & also used metaphorically for something annoying or trivial.

蝨Tone 1

shī ｜ 15 strokes ｜ radical:

上姝

蝨 · shī

Louse — refers to parasitic insects like head lice, body lice, and pubic lice;

also used metaphorically for something annoying or trivial.

Louse — refers to parasitic insects like headalso used metaphorically for something annoying or trivial.

Usage highlights

Head louseBody lousePubic louseLice eggLouse combLouse infestation

Synonyms

  • 虱— Simplified form of 蝨
  • 寄生虫— parasite (broader term)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • Head lice infestation (头蝨 infestation).
  • Body louse (体蝨).
  • The dog has fleas and lice (狗身上有跳蚤和蝨子).
  • Nitpicking (找蝨子 — literally 'looking for lice').

Collocations

  • Head louse(头蝨)
  • Body louse(体蝨)
  • Pubic louse(阴蝨)
  • Lice egg(蝨卵)
  • Louse comb(蝨梳)
  • Louse infestation(蝨病)

Idioms

  • Like a louse on a bald head — extremely obvious(秃子头上的蝨子 — 明摆着)
  • To nitpick(吹毛求蝨)
  • Lice and fleas(蝨蚤)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Historically associated with poor hygiene and poverty in traditional Chinese society.
  • Used in folk sayings to represent something trivial yet annoying.
  • The character appears in classical medical texts describing parasitic infestations.

FAQ