About
The character for the soft-shelled turtle, traditionally written as "鱉", is structured as a phono-semantic compound where the component "敝" provides phonetic guidance while "魚" serves as the semantic radical, reflecting an ancient perception of this reptile as a fish-like aquatic creature. This structural logic was preserved in the simplified form "鳖", which substitutes the semantic radical with its simplified counterpart "鱼" without altering the fundamental relationship between sound and meaning. Over time, the character's core zoological definition has remained consistent, yet its usage in classical and vernacular contexts occasionally expanded to convey metaphorical meanings, such as denoting stubbornness or lethargy, drawn from observable behaviors of the animal itself.
Example Sentences Hide
河里有一只鳖。
这只鳖很小。
他抓住了一只鳖。
鳖肉很有营养。
我们在市场买鳖。
这只鳖从水里爬上来。
鳖的壳是软的吗？
农民在池塘里养鳖赚钱。