沙丁鱼
shādīngyú
The English phrase 'sardines' is translated into Mandarin as 沙丁鱼 (shādīngyú).
沙丁鱼 refers to small, oily fish that are often sold canned in oil or brine.
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of the transliterated sound 沙丁 (sardine) and 鱼 (fish).
How does it change in a sentence?
The term 沙丁鱼 is used for both the singular and plural forms, as Mandarin does not typically use plural markers for nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
shādīngyú
Did you know?
- The word 鱼 (yú) is a homophone for the word for 'abundance' or 'surplus', making fish a symbol of luck in many Chinese contexts.
- The word 鱼 is a 'pictograph', meaning the original ancient character was actually a drawing of a fish with scales and a tail.
- If you were to search for the components of the name, you would find 'sand', 'ding' (a bell or a tripod), and 'fish'.
Examples in context
- 罐头沙丁鱼很便宜。guàntóu shādīngyú hěn piányi.Canned sardines are very cheap.
- 我不喜欢吃沙丁鱼。wǒ bù xǐhuān chī shādīngyú.I do not like eating sardines.
- 这些沙丁鱼闻起来很香。zhèxiē shādīngyú wén qǐlái hěn xiāng.These sardines smell delicious.
Example conversation
Wei and Xiaowen are shopping in a supermarket.
- 伟 Wei我们要买沙丁鱼吗？wǒmen yào mǎi shādīngyú ma?Are we going to buy sardines?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen可以，买一罐吧。kěyǐ, mǎi yī guàn ba.Yes, let's buy one can.
- 伟 Wei晓雯，你觉得这个品牌好吗？Xiǎowén, nǐ juéde zhège pǐnpái hǎo ma?Xiaowen, do you think this brand is good?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我觉得这个品牌的沙丁鱼不错。wǒ juéde zhège pǐnpái de shādīngyú bùcuò.I think this brand's sardines are quite good.
