鱼 yú — fish · English

鱼

yú

fish

At a glance · 鱼

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

甲骨文、金文象头、身、尾、鳍俱全的鱼形，象形。小篆线条化，隶楷作「魚」，简化作「鱼」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「鱼」本指水生鱼类，为人类重要食物。

Structure

象形字，象鱼之全形。

At a glance

Pinyinyú

Radical鱼

Strokes8

UnicodeU+9C7C

Character type象形

Theme动物

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English fish A fish, aquatic vertebrate.

Français poisson Un poisson, vertébré aquatique.

Español pez Un pez, vertebrado acuático.

العربية سمك سمكة أو حيوان مائي.

Русский рыба Рыба, водное позвоночное.

Common words

鱼yúfish
钓鱼diào yúfishing

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