蛋
Lesson note · dàn
The Character 蛋: Egg, Structure & Origin
An essential HSK 2 / HSK 3 character used in food, cooking, and everyday expressions
蛋dàneggovum鸡蛋蛋糕foodcooking虫HSK 2HSK 3
Common Vocabulary & Words
蛋 (dàn) means egg or ovum and appears frequently in everyday food, cooking, and colloquial expressions.
| HSK level | Chinese | Pinyin | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSK 2 | 鸡蛋 | jīdàn | Chicken egg—literally “chicken + egg” |
| HSK 2 | 蛋糕 | dàngāo | Cake—literally “egg + cake / pastry” |
Character Structure & Radical Details
- Pinyin
- dàn
- Radical
- 虫虫部 (chóng bù)—Insect / Worm Radical, 6 strokes
- Stroke count
- 11 strokes
- Structure
- Top–bottom上下结构 (shàngxià jiégòu)
Component breakdown
- Top part: 疋 (shǐ / pǐ) or 𤴓, an ancient variant derived from 正 (zhèng) or 疋 (pǐ)—feet or stepping.
- Bottom part (semantic radical): 虫 (chóng)—insect or reptile.
Etymology & origin
Historically, 蛋 represented eggs laid by reptiles, aquatic creatures, or insects (虫). Eventually, it replaced the older character 卵 (luǎn) in standard spoken modern Chinese for everyday eggs such as chicken eggs (鸡蛋).