About
鲸 (jīng) is a phonosemantic compound, simplified from the traditional 鯨. The radical 鱼 (yú, 'fish') on the left indicates an aquatic animal, while the component 京 (jīng) on the right provides the pronunciation. The traditional form uses 魚, the unsimplified fish radical. Although 京 primarily serves as the phonetic, its meaning 'capital' or 'immense' also hints at the whale's enormous size. Ancient scholars classified whales as giant fish, which explains the use of the fish radical for this marine mammal. The character specifically denotes whales, and classical texts employ it metaphorically in compounds to describe something exceptionally large, powerful, or voracious.
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Example Sentences Hide
蓝鲸是很大的动物。
我在海洋馆见过鲸鱼。
这头鲸的叫声很特别。
科学家正在研究鲸的行为。
鲸鱼用肺呼吸，不是用鳃。
那片海域是鲸群的迁徙路线。
过度捕鲸曾使许多鲸类濒危。
一头鲸的死亡会形成深海鲸落生态系统。
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