About
鳜 is a noun for the mandarin fish, a freshwater species valued in Chinese cuisine. It is a phono-semantic compound, combining the semantic radical 鱼 (fish) with the phonetic component 厥 (jué), which indicates its pronunciation. Its traditional form, 鱖, uses the unsimplified radical 魚 on the left with the same phonetic element. Historically, the character has retained a precise definition, referring only to fish of the genus Siniperca, without developing metaphorical meanings or broadening to other aquatic life.
Etymology Hide
