鳖 (biē): softshell turtle

Measure Word

一只鳖 zhī

Meanings

1 softshell turtle
2 Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis)

Characters

鳖

biē

softshell turtle

Examples

甲鱼又叫鳖,是一种淡水爬行动物。

Jiǎyú yòu jiào biē, shì yī zhǒng dànshuǐ páxíng dòngwù.

Jiǎyú is also called biē — it is a freshwater reptile.

他点了一份红烧鳖。

Tā diǎn le yī fèn hóngshāo biē.

He ordered a portion of braised softshell turtle.

Tips

culture

Softshell turtle is a prized ingredient in southern Chinese cuisine — especially in 鳖汤 (turtle soup), eaten as a tonic. Also called 甲鱼 (jiǎyú) and 王八 (wángba). Note that 王八 has become a vulgar insult ("cuckold/bastard") in colloquial speech, which is why polite menus prefer 鳖 or 甲鱼.

memory

鳖 contains the 鱼 (fish) radical at the bottom — Chinese taxonomy classifies turtles alongside aquatic creatures. The top component 敝 (bì) gives a hint of the historical pronunciation.

Components

radical

鱼 yú

fish

Bottom 鱼 — the indexing fish radical, the simplified form of 鳥-counterpart 魚. It puts 鳖 in the broad aquatic-creature family that includes proper fish (鲤, 鲫, 鲨), shellfish, and reptiles classed with them. The softshell turtle isn't strictly a fish, but classical taxonomy grouped water-dwelling creatures together — the radical signals 'lives in fresh water.'

phonetic

敝 bì

worn out; shabby (here phonetic)

Top 敝 supplies the sound — bì drifting to biē through the regular b/p shift seen across the 敝 phonetic series (蔽, 弊, 撇). 敝 itself depicts a cloth (巾) being beaten with a stick (攵), giving 'tattered.' For 鳖 the picture is incidental: the phonetic was chosen for its reading, lending the softshell turtle its name.