鲇

鮎
nián
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 catfish
  2. 2 sheatfish

Examples

HSK 7-9
Nián yú zuǐ dà, húxū cháng, shēnghuó zài dànshuǐ lǐ.
The catfish has a big mouth and long whiskers and lives in fresh water.
HSK 7-9
Nián yú de pí hěn huá, méiyǒu lín.
Catfish skin is slimy and has no scales.

Tips

usage
鲇 names the catfish, almost always written 鲇鱼. The same fish is also written 鲶鱼 with an interchangeable character - both are common and pronounced the same.

Components

radical
鱼 yú
fish
The fish radical 鱼 on the left marks 鲇 as a species of fish, the same radical used to name 鲤 carp and 鲨 shark.
phonetic
占 zhān
to divine; to occupy (here phonetic)
Right is 占, an old phonetic that shifted to nián. It carries only the sound for this fish name, with no meaning attached.

Stroke Order

鲇 nián