Chinese word

蟑螂

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhāng láng

Meaning

  • nouncockroach

Example

我在厨房看到了一只蟑螂。wǒ zài chú fáng kàn dào le yì zhī zhāng láng

I saw a cockroach in the kitchen.

Illustration for 蟑螂 (cockroach)

More examples

他用拖鞋拍死了蟑螂。tā yòng tuō xié pāi sǐ le zhāng láng

He swatted a cockroach to death with a slipper.

Core concept

A flat, dark-brown insect that slips through kitchens, drains, and narrow cracks at night.

Common phrases

  • 拍死蟑螂pāi sǐ zhāng láng

    swat a cockroach to death

  • 抓到蟑螂zhuā dào zhāng láng

    catch a cockroach

  • 赶走蟑螂gán zǒu zhāng láng

    drive away a cockroach

Similar words

小强xiǎo qiáng: An informal, friendly name for a cockroach used in everyday speech.

Definition in Chinese

一种常见的黑褐色昆虫，体形扁平，夜间活动，常在厨房、阴暗缝隙或下水道出现，杂食且常被视为害虫。yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de hēi hè sè kūn chóng tǐ xíng biǎn píng yè jiān huó dòng cháng zài chú fáng yīn àn fèng xì huò xià shuǐ dào chū xiàn zá shí qiě cháng bèi shì wéi hài chóng

Word origin

蟑螂 (zhāngláng, "cockroach") has 虫 (chóng, "insect") in each character to mark an insect, while 章 (zhāng, "chapter") and 郎 (láng, "young man") mainly indicate the sounds.

Usage tips

  • For everyday counting, 蟑螂 (zhāngláng, "cockroach") takes 只 (zhī, "animal classifier"), the counter used for one or more individual animals.

Word lists with this word