大鱼

大魚

dàyú

noun #8,550

Measure Word

一条大鱼 tiáo

Meanings

1 big fish
2 (figurative) big shot; important person; major target

Characters

Big + fish — literally a large fish, figuratively a big shot or important target.

Examples

他钓到了一条大鱼。

Tā diào dào le yī tiáo dàyú.

He caught a big fish.

警察终于抓到了这条大鱼。

Jǐngchá zhōngyú zhuā dào le zhè tiáo dàyú.

The police finally caught the big fish.

大鱼吃小鱼，小鱼吃虾米。

Dàyú chī xiǎoyú, xiǎoyú chī xiāmǐ.

Big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp.

Tips

culture

大鱼吃小鱼 (big fish eat little fish) is a common Chinese proverb describing the food chain or how the powerful exploit the weak. In crime/police contexts, 大鱼 means a major criminal target.

In Pop Culture

大鱼海棠 Dàyú Hǎitáng

Big Fish & Begonia

2016 Chinese animated fantasy film

Stroke Order

大 dà

鱼 yú