鳍 meaning and stroke order
Fin
How to write 鳍, stroke by stroke
18 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 鳍
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- fin
How 鳍 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fish.
鱼 gives the meaning and 耆 hints at the sound.
Radical: 鱼 (fish), shared by 79 characters on this site.
How to remember 鳍
The left side is 鱼 (yú, fish), so the character is about a fish part. The right side 耆 (qí) gives the sound, so picture a fish waving its fin to say "qí".
鳍 usually appears in compound words rather than alone. The most common are 鱼鳍 (yúqí, fish fin) and 鱼翅 related terms, plus 背鳍 (bèiqí, dorsal fin) and 胸鳍 (xiōngqí, pectoral fin). Example: 鲨鱼的背鳍露出了水面。(Shāyú de bèiqí lù chū le shuǐmiàn.) The shark's dorsal fin came out of the water.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 鳍 (qí) with 翅 (chì, wing), especially because shark fin soup is 鱼翅汤 (yúchì tāng), not 鱼鳍汤. Also, the right side 耆 is easy to miswrite as 者 (zhě); remember 耆 has 日 under 老's top part, while 者 lacks the 匕 shape.
Questions about 鳍
How many strokes are in 鳍?
鳍 is written with 18 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 鳍 mean?
鳍 (qí) means fin.
How do you pronounce 鳍?
鳍 is pronounced qí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 鳍?
The radical of 鳍 is 鱼, which carries the idea of "fish". Dictionaries list 鳍 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 鳍?
The traditional form of 鳍 is 鰭. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 鳍 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is shark fin 鲨鱼鳍 or 鱼翅?
When talking about the body part on a living shark, 鲨鱼鳍 (shāyú qí) or 鲨鱼的背鳍 is correct. As a food ingredient, Chinese uses 鱼翅 (yúchì).
Can 鳍 be used for swim fins that divers wear?
Not usually. Swim fins are called 脚蹼 (jiǎopǔ) or 蛙鞋 (wāxié). 鳍 refers to the fins of fish and similar sea animals, and sometimes fin-shaped parts in technical terms.