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鲦 (traditional: 鰷) is a phono-semantic compound. The left side, 鱼 (魚), is the semantic component meaning "fish", while the right side, 条 (條), serves as the phonetic, giving the pronunciation tiáo and carrying the sense of a strip, which suggests the fish's slender shape. The character was coined to name small, slender freshwater fish, typically minnows or bleak, and it has maintained this original, literal meaning throughout its history without acquiring figurative extensions.
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