鱼鳞 (yú lín) — fish scales | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

fish scales

Measure word · 片

Examples

鱼鳞。
Zhè tiáo yú shēn shàng de yú lín hěn liàng.
The scales on this fish are very shiny.
鱼鳞。
Zuò yú zhī qián yào bǎ yú lín guā gān jìng.
Before cooking the fish, you need to scrape off the scales cleanly.
鱼鳞。
Tā jiǎn qǐ yí piàn yú lín kàn le kàn.
He picked up a fish scale and looked at it.

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.

鱼 means fish and 鳞 means scales, together denoting the scales covering a fish.

Characters in this word

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.

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 鱗; 鳞 is its simplified writing.

魚粦鱗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

魚魚yúfish

Sound part声符shēngfú

粦

粦lín鱗lín

Same sound today

The traditional form 鱗 combines 魚 (fish) with 粦 to mark the sound; the simplified 鳞 is a later shorthand, so the story is about 鱗.

Appears in

Body Parts Fish & Aquatic Life

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