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⿱田糸)

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

Chinese

simp. and trad.		螺
alternative forms		蠃

Glyph origin

	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

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

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”).

Pronunciation

Rime
Character	螺
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	戈 (95)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	落戈切
Baxter	lwa
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/luɑ/
Pan Wuyun	/luɑ/
Shao Rongfen	/luɑ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/lwa/
Li Rong	/luɑ/
Wang Li	/luɑ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/luɑ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	luó
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lo4

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	螺
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	luó
Middle Chinese	‹ lwa ›
Old Chinese	/*k.rˁoj/
English	spiral, snail
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	螺
Reading #	1/1
No.	7701
Phonetic component	畾
Rime group	歌
Rime subdivision	3
Corresponding MC rime	𩼊
Old Chinese	/*roːl/
Notes	見論衡說文作蠃

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): luó (luo²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄨㄛˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): lo⁴ / lo^4-2
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): lò

  (Hailu, HRS): lo

  (Meixian, Guangdong): lo²

• Eastern Min (BUC): lòi
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): loe² / luei² / lui²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): lê / lêr / lô / lô͘

  (Teochew, Peng'im): lo⁵ / lo¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶lu

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: luó
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄨㄛˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: luó
    • Wade–Giles: lo²
    • Yale: lwó
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: luo
    • Palladius: ло (lo)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lu̯ɔ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: lo⁴ / lo^4-2
    • Yale: lòh / ló
    • Cantonese Pinyin: lo⁴ / lo^4-2
    • Guangdong Romanization: lo⁴ / lo^4-2
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɔː²¹/, /lɔː²¹⁻³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lò
    • Hakka Romanization System: lo^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: lo²
    • Sinological IPA: /lo¹¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: lo
    • Sinological IPA: /lo⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: lo²
    • Sinological IPA: /lo¹¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: lòi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃øy⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: loe²
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: lé̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lø¹³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: loe²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lø²⁴/
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: luei²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /luei¹³/
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: lui²
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: lúi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lui¹³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: lui²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lui²⁴/

Note:

• loe2 - vernacular;
• luei2 - literary (as in 螺紋);
• lui2 - used in toponym 螺洲.

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Yilan, Magong, Hsinchu, Taichung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lê
    • Tâi-lô: lê
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lee
    • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Tainan, Yilan): /le²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /le¹³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /le²³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Hsinchu)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lêr
    • Tâi-lô: lêr
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Lukang, Kinmen): /lə²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lô
    • Tâi-lô: lô
    • Phofsit Daibuun: looi
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou): /lo²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lô͘
    • Tâi-lô: lôo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: loo
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Taipei): /lɔ²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lɔ²³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lɔ¹³/
Note:
• lê/lêr - vernacular;
• lô/lô͘ - literary.
• • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: lo⁵ / lo¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lô / lo
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lo⁵⁵/, /lo³³/
Note: lo1 - only in 庵螺 (am1 lo1).
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶lu
    • MiniDict: lu^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³lu
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /lu²³/

---

• Middle Chinese: lwa

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*k.rˤoj/

  (Zhengzhang): /*roːl/

Definitions

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”)

Compounds

• 吃螺絲 / 吃螺丝 (chī luósī)
• 吹法螺
• 大吹法螺 (dàchuīfǎluó)
• 大法螺
• 天狗螺
• 峨螺 (éluó)
• 指螺
• 旋螺
• 木螺釘 / 木螺钉
• 泡螺
• 法螺 (fǎluó)
• 海螺 (hǎiluó)
• 玉螺
• 瑪瑙螺 / 玛瑙螺 (mǎnǎo luó)
• 田螺 (tiánluó)
• 白螺 (Báiluó)
• 碧螺春 (bìluóchūn)
• 竹陀螺
• 筍螺 / 笋螺
• 篷螺 (péngluó)
• 紅螺 / 红螺
• 蝸螺 / 蜗螺
• 螺內酯 / 螺内酯 (luónèizhǐ)
• 螺子墨
• 螺子黛
• 螺山 (Luóshān)
• 螺帽 (luómào)
• 螺旋 (luóxuán)
• 螺旋槳 / 螺旋桨 (luóxuánjiǎng)
• 螺旋狀 / 螺旋状
• 螺旋菌
• 螺旋體 / 螺旋体 (luóxuántǐ)
• 螺杯
• 螺栓 (luóshuān)
• 螺模
• 螺槳 / 螺桨
• 螺槳船 / 螺桨船
• 螺母 (luómǔ)
• 螺溪石硯 / 螺溪石砚
• 螺溪硯 / 螺溪砚
• 螺烷
• 螺紋 / 螺纹 (luówén)
• 螺紋鑽 / 螺纹钻
• 螺絲 / 螺丝 (luósī)
• 螺絲刀 / 螺丝刀 (luósīdāo)
• 螺絲崗 / 螺丝岗
• 螺絲帽 / 螺丝帽 (luósīmào)
• 螺絲扣 / 螺丝扣
• 螺絲攻 / 螺丝攻
• 螺絲模 / 螺丝模
• 螺絲母 / 螺丝母 (luósīmǔ)
• 螺絲起子 / 螺丝起子 (luósī qǐzi)
• 螺絲釘 / 螺丝钉 (luósīdīng)
• 螺絲髻 / 螺丝髻
• 螺線圈 / 螺线圈
• 螺號 / 螺号 (luóhào)
• 螺螄 / 螺蛳 (luósī)
• 螺螄轉兒 / 螺蛳转儿
• 螺貝 / 螺贝 (luóbèi)
• 螺距 (luójù)
• 螺釘 / 螺钉 (luódīng)
• 螺鈿 / 螺钿 (luódiàn)
• 螺階 / 螺阶
• 螺青
• 螺髻
• 螺墨
• 螺黛
• 蠑螺 / 蝾螺
• 裹螺螄 / 裹螺蛳
• 西螺 (Xīluó)
• 西螺鎮 / 西螺镇
• 鈿螺 / 钿螺
• 陀螺 (tuóluó)
• 霆水螺 (tân-chúi-lê) (Min Nan)
• 青螺
• 骨螺
• 鮑螺 / 鲍螺
• 鸚鵡螺 / 鹦鹉螺 (yīngwǔluó)
• 黛螺

References

• “螺”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• “螺”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.
• 李如龙 [Li, Ru-long], 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu], 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying], 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019) “螺”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 128.