鳞

鱗

lín

粦 + 鱼

Frequency#2763

Definitions

lín scales (of fish, snakes etc)

Etymology phono-semantic

fish

Semantic: 鱼 Phonetic: 粦

About

The character "鳞", structured with the fish radical "鱼" and the phonetic component "粦", has a traditional form written as "鱗". Its etymology links directly to aquatic life, originally denoting the scales on a fish's body. Over centuries, the meaning expanded to include any similar overlapping or plate-like covering, such as on reptiles or in architectural contexts, while the character's composition continued to signal its foundational association with fish through the persistent use of the fish radical.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这条鱼有闪亮的鳞。

Zhè tiáo yú yǒu shǎnliàng de lín.

This fish has shiny scales.

清理鱼鳞需要耐心。

Qīnglǐ yúlín xūyào nàixīn.

Cleaning fish scales requires patience.

鱼鳞在阳光下闪闪发光。

Yúlín zài yángguāng xià shǎnshǎn fāguāng.

Fish scales sparkle in the sunlight.

那片水域污染严重，鱼鳞都变黑了。

Nà piàn shuǐyù wūrǎn yánzhòng, yúlín dōu biàn hēi le.

The water in that area is heavily polluted, and the fish scales have turned black.

这些建筑鳞次栉比地排列着。

Zhèxiē jiànzhú líncìzhìbǐ de páiliè zhe.

These buildings are arranged in neat rows, like fish scales.

穿山甲的鳞片非常坚硬。

Chuānshānjiǎ de línpiàn fēicháng jiānyìng.

The pangolin's scales are very hard.

他的皮肤得了鳞状皮肤病。

Tā de pífū dé le lín zhuàng pífū bìng.

He has a scaly skin disease.

显微镜下可以观察到细胞的鳞状结构。

Xiǎnwēijìng xià kěyǐ guānchá dào xìbāo de lín zhuàng jiégòu.

The squamous structure of the cells can be observed under a microscope.

Related Characters

Component: 粦

Component: 鱼

鳞