咸鱼 (xiányú) · salted fish

Measure Word

一条咸鱼 tiáo

Meanings

1 salted fish
2 someone who gives up on ambition; a slacker

About the ingredient

水产 Fish and seafood

Whole fish or pieces salted and dried, some kinds fermented first, with a strong, pungent smell. Cantonese cooks use a little for its salty depth: steamed on minced pork, chopped into fried rice or braised with eggplant.

Contains fish

Used in 1 dish

咸鱼鸡粒炒饭 xiányú jīlì chǎofàn

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

他说自己就是条咸鱼，不想奋斗了。

Tā shuō zìjǐ jiùshì tiáo xiányú, bù xiǎng fèndòu le.

He said he was just a salted fish and didn't want to strive anymore.

HSK 6

广东人很喜欢用咸鱼来煮粥。

Guǎngdōng rén hěn xǐhuan yòng xiányú lái zhǔ zhōu.

Cantonese people love to cook porridge with salted fish.

HSK 7-9

咸鱼翻身是不可能的事吗？

Xiányú fānshēn shì bù kěnéng de shì ma?

Is it really impossible for the salted fish to turn over (stage a comeback)?

Tips

culture

In modern internet slang, 咸鱼 refers to someone who has given up on ambition and just lies flat (躺平). The idiom 咸鱼翻身 (salted fish flips over) means achieving a dramatic reversal of fortune against all odds.