鲻 (zī): mullet (fish)

Measure Word

一条鲻鱼 tiáo

Zīyú shēnghuó zài xiándàn shuǐ jiāojiè chù.

Mullet live where salt and fresh water meet.

Zhè dào cài yòng de shì xīnxiān de zīyú.

This dish uses fresh mullet.

memory

鲻 = 鱼 (fish radical) + 甾 (zāi, phonetic). The fish radical signals it's a fish; the right side hints at the 'zī' reading.

usage

Almost always appears as 鲻鱼 (zīyú, mullet) rather than the bare character — Chinese fish names typically take the 鱼 suffix in everyday speech.

鲻 zī