鲇鱼 (nián yú) — catfish | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

catfish

Measure word · 条

Easily confused

鲇鱼，。
Zhè tiáo nián yú hěn dà, yǒu sān jīn zhòng.
This catfish is very big, weighing three jin.
鲇鱼。
Tā xǐ huan chī hóng shāo nián yú.
He likes to eat braised catfish.
鲇鱼。
nián yú Shēng huó zài hé liú hé hú pō de dǐ bù.
Catfish live at the bottom of rivers and lakes.

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.

鲇niáncatfish

鲇 names the catfish kind, and 鱼 marks it as a 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鯰; 鲇 is its simplified writing.

魚念鯰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

魚魚yúfish

Sound part声符shēngfú

念

Same sound today

The traditional form 鯰 pairs 魚, meaning fish, with 念 to give the sound; the simplified 鲇 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.