鲸

鯨
jīng
noun HSK 7-9 #12,219

Measure Word

一头鲸 tóu

Meanings

  1. 1 whale

Examples

HSK 3
Wǒmen zài hǎishàng kàndào le yī tóu jīng.
We saw a whale at sea.
HSK 3
Lán jīng shì shìjiè shàng zuì dà de dòngwù.
The blue whale is the largest animal in the world.

Tips

usage
鲸 is often combined with 鱼 as 鲸鱼 in everyday speech, even though whales are mammals, not fish.

Components

radical
鱼 yú
fish
Left 鱼 - pictograph of a fish, simplified from 魚 with the four bottom strokes flattened into one horizontal. As the indexing radical it carries the meaning: ancient Chinese classified whales as giant fish (only modern science reclassifies them as mammals). Family: 鲨 shark, 鲤 carp, 鳝 eel.
phonetic
京 jīng
capital
Right 京 supplies the full sound - jīng read identically in the parent. There is also a faint semantic boost: 京 originally pictured a tall watchtower, and a whale is the tallest, vastest creature of the sea - same scaling-up imagery. Same phonetic powers 凉 cool, 景 scenery, 椋 oak.

Stroke Order

鲸 jīng