鲸 (jīng) — whale
Definition
Whale (jīng) — a large marine mammal, not a fish. 鲨鱼 'shark' is a fish, so use 鲸 for whales (e.g. 蓝鲸 blue whale) and 鲨鱼 for sharks.
noun
whale
Measure word · 头
Examples
- 。Lán jīng shì dì qiú shàng zuì dà de dòng wù.The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth.
- 鲸。Hěn duō guó jiā jìn zhǐ bǔ jīng.Many countries ban whaling.
- 鲸。Wǒ men zài hǎi biān kàn dào le yì qún jīng.We saw a pod of whales by the coast.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 鯨; 鲸 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
魚魚yúfish
The traditional form 鯨 pairs 魚 (fish) with 京 for the sound; the simplified 鲸 keeps that same 京 sound part.
Appears in
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