noun #26,934

Measure Word

一条 tiáo

Meanings

  1. 1 carp (fish)

Characters

Examples

Chítáng lǐ yǒu hěnduō hóngsè de lǐ.
There are many red carp in the pond.
Lǐyú tiào lóng mén shì yīgè zhùmíng de chuánshuō.
The carp leaping through the dragon gate is a famous legend.

Tips

culture
In Chinese culture, the carp (鲤鱼) symbolizes perseverance and success. The legend of 鲤鱼 (carp leaping over the dragon gate) represents achieving great things through effort, often applied to passing imperial exams or gaining promotion.

Components

radical
fish
Left fish radical — the indexing radical, pictograph of a fish on its side with head, body and tail. Anchors in the freshwater-fish family with (crucian carp), (perch), (shark). Carp are the prototypical Chinese pond fish — both food and auspicious symbol of perseverance (the 'leaping the dragon gate' legend).
phonetic
village; inside; mile
Right side supplies the sound directly (lǐ → lǐ, exact match). Same phonetic anchors a broad family: (reason), (decimal), (interjection). The 'village / interior' meaning is incidental, though carp do thrive in village ponds — a useful mnemonic for the radical-phonetic pair.

Stroke Order