鲭 (qīng): mackerel

Measure Word

一条鲭 tiáo

Meanings

1 mackerel
2 chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus)

Characters

鲭

qīng

mackerel

Examples

HSK 7-9

鲭是一种富含脂肪的海鱼。

Qīng shì yī zhǒng fùhán zhīfáng de hǎiyú.

Mackerel is a fatty saltwater fish.

HSK 7-9

日本料理中常用鲭鱼制作寿司。

Rìběn liàolǐ zhōng chángyòng qīngyú zhìzuò shòusī.

Japanese cuisine often uses mackerel to make sushi.

Tips

usage

鲭 refers to mackerel in general. The full form 鲭鱼 is more commonly used in everyday speech. There is a second reading 鲭 referring to a stew of fish and meat, but this usage is literary/archaic.

Components

radical

鱼 yú

fish

Left 鱼 is the fish radical, simplified from 魚 - head on top, body in the middle, tail-fin at the bottom (the four dots in the traditional form, flattened to a single horizontal in simplified). Indexing radical, anchoring 鲭 in the fish family alongside 鲤 carp, 鲑 salmon, 鲨 shark, 鳕 cod.

phonetic

青 qīng

blue-green; young

Right 青 supplies the sound - qīng straight through - and a real semantic flavour: mackerel and saury have shimmering blue-green backs, exactly the colour 青 names. So the phonetic doubles as a true descriptor: 鲭 is the 'blue-green fish.' Same phonetic family: 清 clear, 情 feeling, 请 please, 晴 sunny - all carrying qīng or related readings.