鱷 meaning and stroke order
Alligator
How to write 鱷, stroke by stroke
27 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 鱷
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) alligator; crocodile
How 鱷 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fish.
魚 gives the meaning and 噩 hints at the sound.
Radical: 魚 (fish), shared by 63 characters on this site.
How to remember 鱷
鱷 is built from 魚 (yú, fish) on the left for meaning and 噩 (è) on the right for sound. Picture a scaly water creature, grouped with fish by the ancients, whose name sounds like 噩 (è), the 'dreadful' part of 噩夢 (èmèng, nightmare).
鱷 is a bound form, so it almost always appears inside a word, most often 鱷魚 (èyú, crocodile or alligator). Example: 河裡有一條鱷魚。 (Hé lǐ yǒu yì tiáo èyú.) There is a crocodile in the river.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 鱷 alone to mean crocodile, but in speech you need 鱷魚 (èyú). Also watch the right side: 噩 has four small 口 around a central 王-like shape, so do not simplify it to 咢 unless you are writing the simplified form 鳄.
Common words with 鱷
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鱷魚 | èyú | alligator; crocodile (CL:條|条[tiao2]) | HSK 7-9 |
| 鱷梨 | èlí | avocado (Persea americana) |
Questions about 鱷
How many strokes are in 鱷?
鱷 is written with 27 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 鱷 mean?
鱷 (è) means alligator. A common word with it is 鳄鱼 (èyú), meaning "alligator; crocodile (CL:條|条[tiao2])".
How do you pronounce 鱷?
鱷 is pronounced è, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 鱷?
The radical of 鱷 is 魚, which carries the idea of "fish". Dictionaries list 鱷 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 鱷?
鱷 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 鳄, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does 鳄梨 (èlí) mean avocado?
鳄梨 literally means 'crocodile pear', likely because the avocado's bumpy dark green skin looks like crocodile skin. In mainland China people also often call it 牛油果 (niúyóuguǒ).
Does Chinese distinguish between crocodiles and alligators?
In everyday speech both are just 鱷魚 (èyú). Specialists may say 短吻鱷 (duǎnwěn'è) for alligator, and the Chinese alligator is called 揚子鱷 (Yángzǐ'è).