About
The character 鲵 is a phono-semantic compound where the left radical 鱼 (or traditional 魚) signals its semantic category as an aquatic creature, while the right component 倪 (ní) provides the pronunciation. It primarily denotes the giant salamander, a freshwater amphibian known in Chinese as the "infant fish" for its distinctive calls. In traditional script, it is written as 鯢 with the fuller fish radical. Both forms specifically refer to this amphibian in zoological, scientific, and classical texts about regional fauna.
Etymology Hide
