钓鱼 (diào yú) — to fish (with a line and hook); to dupe, to tri… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The verb 'to fish (with a line and hook)', and figuratively 'to lure or dupe' (e.g. 钓鱼执法 'entrapment enforcement', 钓鱼网站 'phishing site'). Note it's a separable verb: 钓鱼 → 钓一条鱼.

verb

to fish (with a line and hook)to dupeto trick (e.g. 钓鱼网站, 钓鱼执法)

Examples

钓鱼。
Tā měi tiān xià wǔ dōu qù hé biān diào yú.
He goes fishing by the river every afternoon.
。
Tā zuó tiān diào le yì tiáo dà yú.
He caught a big fish yesterday.
钓鱼，。
Tā bèi diào yú le, sǔn shī le hěn duō qián.
He was duped and lost a lot of money.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

钓diàofish with hook

钓 fish catches 鱼 fish, so the word means to fish with a hook.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 釣; 钓 is its simplified writing.

金勺釣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

勺

勺sháo釣diào

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

The traditional form 釣 uses 金 for metal and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 钓 is a later shorthand.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Outdoor Recreation 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.