鳄 meaning and stroke order
Alligator
How to write 鳄, stroke by stroke
17 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 鳄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) alligator; crocodile
- variant of 鱷|鳄[e4]
How 鳄 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fish.
鱼 gives the meaning and 咢 hints at the sound.
Radical: 鱼 (fish), shared by 79 characters on this site.
How to remember 鳄
鳄 combines 鱼 (fish), the semantic part, with 咢 (è), which gives the sound. Picture a scaly water animal that is not really a fish, opening its jaws in the river.
鳄 is a bound form, so it almost always appears inside words, most often 鳄鱼 (èyú), crocodile or alligator. It also shows up in 鳄梨 (èlí), avocado. Example: 河里有一条鳄鱼。(Hé lǐ yǒu yì tiáo èyú.) There is a crocodile in the river.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 鳄 alone for crocodile, but in speech you need 鳄鱼 (èyú). Also keep the tone a sharp fourth tone è, and do not confuse the right side 咢 with 号 (hào); 咢 has two 口 on top.
Common words with 鳄
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鳄鱼 | èyú | alligator; crocodile (CL:條|条[tiao2]) | HSK 7-9 |
| 鳄梨 | èlí | avocado (Persea americana) |
鳄 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 鳄
How many strokes are in 鳄?
鳄 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 鳄 mean?
鳄 (è) means alligator. A common word with it is 鳄鱼 (èyú), meaning "alligator; crocodile (CL:條|条[tiao2])".
How do you pronounce 鳄?
鳄 is pronounced è, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 鳄?
The radical of 鳄 is 鱼, which carries the idea of "fish". Dictionaries list 鳄 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 鳄?
The traditional form of 鳄 is 鰐 and 鱷. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 鳄 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 鳄 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 鳄 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 鳄鱼 mean crocodile or alligator?
Both. Chinese uses 鳄鱼 for crocodiles and alligators in general. If you need to be precise, alligator can be called 短吻鳄 (duǎnwěn'è), short-snouted crocodilian.
Why is avocado called 鳄梨?
鳄梨 (èlí) literally means crocodile pear, likely referring to the fruit's rough, dark green skin. In everyday speech many people also say 牛油果 (niúyóuguǒ).