金鱼
jīnyú
The English word goldfish is 金鱼 (jīnyú) in Chinese.
金鱼 refers to the fish known as a goldfish.
Meaning: fish (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 金 (jīn) meaning 'gold' and 鱼 (yú) meaning 'fish'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Hokkien, goldfish is referred to as 金魚.
How do you pronounce it?
jīnyú
Did you know?
- In Chinese culture, the word 鱼 (fish) is a homophone for the word 'surplus' or 'abundance'. Because of this, giving someone a goldfish is a way of wishing them a life filled with extra resources and prosperity.
- The modern 金鱼 was developed in China through selective breeding of wild carp. This process began as early as the Tang Dynasty, making China the birthplace of the domestic goldfish.
- The character 鱼 (yú) is a pictograph. Its ancient form was a drawing of a fish with a head, scales and a tail, which allows the word to look like the animal it names.
Examples in context
- 请帮我买一只金鱼。Please help me buy a goldfish.
- 我家有一些金鱼宝宝。There are some baby goldfish at my home.
- 这只金鱼很漂亮。Zhè zhǐ jīnyú hěn piàoliang.This goldfish is very beautiful.
- 他在喂金鱼。Tā zài wèi jīnyú.He is feeding the goldfish.
- 金鱼在水里游泳。Jīnyú zài shuǐ lǐ yóuyǒng.The goldfish is swimming in the water.
Example conversation
At a pet store, looking at an aquarium.
- 浩然 Haoran你看，这缸金鱼真可爱。Nǐ kàn, zhè gāng jīnyú zhēn kě'ài.Look, these goldfish in this tank are so cute.
- 佳怡 Jiayi浩然，我们也买几条金鱼吧。Hàorán, wǒmen yě mǎi jǐ tiáo jīnyú ba.Haoran, let's buy a few goldfish too.
- 浩然 Haoran好啊，我喜欢红色金鱼。Hǎo a, wǒ xǐhuān hóngsè jīnyú.Okay, I like red goldfish.
- 佳怡 Jiayi那我们就挑红色的吧。Nà wǒmen jiù tiāo hóngsè de ba.Then let's pick the red ones.
