鲔 (wěi): tuna

Meanings

1 tuna
2 ancient Chinese name for sturgeon and paddlefish; little tuna (Euthynnus alletteratus)

Characters

鲔

wěi

tuna; (classical) sturgeon

Examples

HSK 7-9

鲔鱼寿司是日本料理的经典。

Wěi yú shòusī shì Rìběn liàolǐ de jīngdiǎn.

Tuna sushi is a Japanese cuisine classic.

HSK 7-9

他点了一份鲔鱼罐头。

Tā diǎn le yí fèn wěi yú guàntou.

He ordered a can of tuna.

Tips

culture

鲔 originally referred to sturgeon and paddlefish (鲟鱼) in classical Chinese. In modern Taiwan and via Japanese influence (Japanese 鮪 'maguro' = tuna), 鲔鱼 became the standard word for tuna. Mainland Chinese typically says 金枪鱼 (jīnqiāngyú, 'gold spear fish') for tuna instead.

Components

radical

鱼 yú

fish

Fish radical on the left - the indexing radical, the simplified silhouette of a fish, head up, scales down the body, tail at the bottom. It marks 鲔 as a member of the fish family alongside 鲨 (shark), 鲤 (carp), 鳗 (eel), 鲸 (whale). Carries the meaning; not the sound.

phonetic

有 yǒu

to have

Right side 有 supplies the sound (yǒu shifting to wěi via an old initial drift). The traditional 鮪 used the same right-hand phonetic, so this is not a simplification change but a long-standing pairing. 有 carries no semantic load here, only the phonological match for the older name of sturgeon and the modern Taiwanese loan for tuna.