游鱼 (yóu yú) — swimming fish | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A literary/poetic image of fish swimming in water, often used as a metaphor for freedom or a carefree life. Less common than the plain everyday 鱼.

noun

swimming fish

Measure word · 条

Easily confused

Examples

游鱼。
Chí zhōng de yóu yú zì yóu zì zài dì yóu lái yóu qù.
The swimming fish in the pond move freely back and forth.
游鱼。
Gǔ shī zhōng cháng yǐ yóu yú bǐ yù zì yóu de shēng huó.
Ancient poems often use swimming fish as a metaphor for a free life.
游鱼，。
Hái zi men zài hú biān kàn yóu yú, wán dé hěn kāi xīn.
The children watched the swimming fish by the lake and had a great time.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

Fish that swim, hence swimming fish.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

斿

斿yóu游yóu

Same sound today

游 combines 水 (water) with 斿, which gives the sound yóu and also relates to travelling.

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.

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