蠊

A phono-semantic compound consisting of:

虫 (insect radical) — semantic component, indicating that the meaning relates to an insect;

廉 (렴 / lián) — phonetic component, providing the sound.

The structure clearly identifies 蠊 as a type of insect, with pronunciation guided by 廉.

In Korean, this character is rarely used in everyday writing, where native terms like 바퀴벌레 are standard.

염충 (蠊蟲) — cockroach (formal or scientific term)

蠊 is a specialized biological character, rarely encountered outside scientific or formal texts.

The compound 蟑蠊 is the standard term in Chinese for cockroach.

The presence of the insect radical 虫 makes the meaning immediately recognizable within the semantic field of insects.

Related characters:

虫 — insect (general category)

蟲 — bug; worm

蟑 — part of 蟑蠊 (cockroach)

蝗 — locust

蠊 is typically not used alone but appears in compound biological terms.