大麻哈鱼 (dà má hā yú) — chum salmon, dog salmon

Definition

A species of Pacific salmon (chum salmon / dog salmon), native to the Heilong (Amur) River and valued in Chinese cuisine for sashimi.

noun

chum salmondog salmon

Measure word · 条

大麻哈鱼。
Zhè zhǒng dà má hā yú zài hēi lóng jiāng hěn cháng jiàn.
This kind of chum salmon is very common in the Heilong River.
大麻哈鱼，。
dà má hā yú De ròu zhì xiān měi, shì hé zuò shēng yú piàn.
Chum salmon has delicious flesh and is suitable for sashimi.
大麻哈鱼。
Yú mín měi nián qiū jì bǔ lāo dà má hā yú.
Fishermen catch chum salmon every autumn.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

麻 combines 厂 and 𣏟 to represent hemp leaves.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

口合哈

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

合

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

哈 uses 口 (mouth) to show a mouth-related idea, and 合 as a sound part. The shape of 合 may look like two open mouths, but that is likely by chance.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 魚; 鱼 is its simplified writing.

For 鱼, the traditional form 魚 is a picture of a fish.