鯨 meaning and stroke order
Whale
How to write 鯨, stroke by stroke
19 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 鯨
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- whale
How 鯨 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fish.
魚 gives the meaning and 京 hints at the sound.
Radical: 魚 (fish), shared by 63 characters on this site.
How to remember 鯨
鯨 combines 魚 (fish) with 京 (jīng), which means capital and also gives the sound. Picture a fish as big as a capital city, and you have a whale.
In everyday speech people usually say 鲸鱼 (jīngyú) rather than 鲸 alone, while 鲸 appears inside species names like 蓝鲸 (lánjīng, blue whale) and 虎鲸 (hǔjīng, orca). Example: 我在海边看到了一条鲸鱼。(Wǒ zài hǎibiān kàn dào le yì tiáo jīngyú.) I saw a whale at the seaside.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes misread 鯨 as jìng or jǐng because 京 looks like the phonetic in 景 (jǐng) and 境 (jìng). Here it keeps the first tone of 京 (jīng).
Common words with 鯨
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鯨魚 | jīngyú | whale | |
| 虎鯨 | hǔjīng | orca; killer whale (Orcinus orca) | |
| 捕鯨 | bǔjīng | to whale; to hunt whales | |
| 白鯨 | Báijīng | beluga whale | |
| 藍鯨 | lánjīng | blue whale |
Questions about 鯨
How many strokes are in 鯨?
鯨 is written with 19 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 鯨 mean?
鯨 (jīng) means whale. A common word with it is 鲸鱼 (jīngyú), meaning "whale".
How do you pronounce 鯨?
鯨 is pronounced jīng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 鯨?
The radical of 鯨 is 魚, which carries the idea of "fish". Dictionaries list 鯨 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 鯨?
鯨 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 鲸, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is a whale a fish in Chinese if the word is 鲸鱼?
The name 鲸鱼 (jīngyú) contains 鱼, but Chinese speakers know whales are mammals. The name is traditional, much like the English word starfish. In science contexts you may see 鲸类 (jīnglèi, cetaceans).
What measure word is used for whales?
The most common measure word is 条 (tiáo), as in 一条鲸鱼 (yì tiáo jīngyú). You will also hear 头 (tóu) for large animals, as in 一头鲸 (yì tóu jīng).