鳗鲡 (mán lí) — eel (especially Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica)

Definition

noun

eel (especially Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica)

Measure word · 条

鳗鲡。
Zhè jiā diàn de mán lí fàn fēi cháng hǎo chī.
The eel rice at this restaurant is very delicious.
鳗鲡。
mán lí Shì yì zhǒng yíng yǎng jià zhí hěn gāo de yú lèi.
Eel is a type of fish with high nutritional value.
鳗鲡。
Tā diǎn le yí fèn kǎo mán lí.
He ordered a serving of grilled eel.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

鲡líeel-like fish

鳗 and 鲡 both refer to eel-like fish; together they name the 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

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.