鲲

鯤
kūn
noun #97,863

Meanings

  1. 1 a legendary giant fish that turns into the Peng bird
  2. 2 fish fry

Examples

HSK 6
Běi míng yǒu yú, qí míngwéi kūn.
In the northern darkness there is a fish, and its name is Kun.

Tips

history
鲲 is not used alone in everyday Chinese. It is the giant fish of 庄子 that transforms into the 鹏 bird, and survives mainly in the literary pair 鲲鹏, a symbol of vast ambition.
register
Literary and allusive; seen in classical philosophy and in names, not in everyday speech.

Components

radical
鱼 yú
fish
鱼 (fish) is the meaning radical, fitting since Kun is described as an immense fish.
phonetic
昆 kūn
elder; numerous
昆 supplies the sound kūn directly, with no tone change.

Stroke Order

鲲 kūn