鳗鱼 (mán yú) — eel | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

eel

Measure word · 条

Examples

鳗鱼。
Rì běn liào lǐ de mán yú fēi cháng hǎo chī.
The eel in Japanese cuisine is very delicious.
鳗鱼。
Wǒ men zuó tiān zài yì jiā cān tīng chī le mán yú.
We ate eel at a restaurant yesterday.
鳗鱼？
Nǐ zuì xǐ huan nǎ zhǒng zuò fǎ de mán yú?
What kind of eel preparation do you like best?

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.

鳗 names an eel and 鱼 means fish; together they refer to an eel.

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 鰻; 鳗 is its simplified writing.

魚曼鰻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

魚魚yúfish

Sound part声符shēngfú

曼

曼màn鰻mán

Same sound today

In the traditional form 鰻, the left side 魚 shows it is a kind of fish, and the right side 曼 gives the sound. The simplified 鳗 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

Fish & Aquatic Life

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