章鱼 (zhāngyú) · octopus

Measure Word

一条章鱼 tiáo

Meanings

1 octopus

About the ingredient

水产 Fish and seafood

Eight-armed sea animal with firm, chewy meat, eaten most along China's east coast. Diced, it fills takoyaki balls, and Japanese restaurants serve it as sashimi.

Contains shellfish

Also called 八爪鱼

Characters

章

zhāng

chapter; pattern; seal

鱼

yú

fish

Patterned fish - the octopus with its color-shifting skin.

Examples

HSK 3

章鱼有八条腿。

Zhāngyú yǒu bā tiáo tuǐ.

An octopus has eight legs.

HSK 3

章鱼是一种非常聪明的动物。

Zhāngyú shì yì zhǒng fēicháng cōngming de dòngwù.

The octopus is a very intelligent animal.

HSK 4

烤章鱼很好吃。

Kǎo zhāngyú hěn hǎochī.

Grilled octopus is delicious.

Tips

memory

章 (chapter/pattern) + 鱼 (fish) - a fish with patterns on its body. Octopi do have remarkable color-changing patterns on their skin!

usage

Don't confuse with 鱿鱼 (squid). 章鱼 has a round body and 8 arms; 鱿鱼 has an elongated body and 10 tentacles. In food contexts, 章鱼烧 is takoyaki (octopus balls).