Definitions

qiú herring

Etymology

About

is a traditional phono-semantic compound, combining the fish radical (meaning 'fish') on the left and the phonetic on the right. The fish radical signals that the character names an aquatic creature. Historically, it referred to a fish like a bream, distinguished by its large scales and bony flesh. In various regional and maritime contexts, it was also adopted to mean herring, frequently appearing in the term 鰽白魚. The phonetic dictates the pronunciation without adding to the zoological meaning.