鲸 meaning and stroke order
Whale
How to write 鲸, stroke by stroke
16 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 鲸
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- whale
How 鲸 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fish.
鱼 gives the meaning and 京 hints at the sound.
Radical: 鱼 (fish), shared by 79 characters on this site.
How to remember 鲸
鲸 is a 鱼 (fish) on the left with 京 (jīng) on the right. 京 means capital, so picture the giant king of the sea, a fish as big as a capital city, and 京 also gives the sound jīng.
In everyday speech people usually say 鲸鱼 (jīngyú) for whale, while 鲸 alone appears in names of species like 蓝鲸 (lánjīng) and 虎鲸 (hǔjīng). Example: 我在海边看到了一头鲸鱼。(Wǒ zài hǎibiān kàn dào le yì tóu jīngyú.) I saw a whale by the sea.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse 鲸 (jīng) with 惊 (jīng, startled), which has the same sound and the same 京 part but a heart radical 忄 instead of 鱼. Also keep the first tone; 京 and 鲸 are both jīng, not jǐng.
Common words with 鲸
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鲸鱼 | jīngyú | whale | |
| 虎鲸 | hǔjīng | orca; killer whale (Orcinus orca) | |
| 捕鲸 | bǔjīng | to whale; to hunt whales | |
| 白鲸 | Báijīng | beluga whale | |
| 蓝鲸 | lánjīng | blue whale |
鲸 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 鲸
How many strokes are in 鲸?
鲸 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 鲸 mean?
鲸 (jīng) means whale. A common word with it is 鲸鱼 (jīngyú), meaning "whale".
How do you pronounce 鲸?
鲸 is pronounced jīng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 鲸?
The radical of 鲸 is 鱼, which carries the idea of "fish". Dictionaries list 鲸 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 鲸?
The traditional form of 鲸 is 鯨. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 鲸 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is a whale a fish in Chinese if it uses 鱼?
The 鱼 radical shows the character was grouped with sea creatures, not that whales are biologically fish. Chinese speakers know whales are mammals and still say 鲸鱼 (jīngyú) in daily speech.
What measure word is used for whales?
The most common measure word is 头 (tóu), as in 一头鲸 (yì tóu jīng). You will also hear 条 (tiáo), which is used for long animals like fish.