烏賊 / 乌贼
wūzéi
The English word squid is translated into Chinese as 烏賊 / 乌贼 (wūzéi) or 魷魚 / 鱿鱼.
Meaning: sea animal (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 烏賊 / 乌贼 | wūzéi |
| 魷魚 / 鱿鱼 | yóuyú |
Both terms refer to the sea animal known as a squid.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 烏賊 / 乌贼 literally translates to 'black thief', which refers to the animal's dark color and the way it catches or 'steals' its prey. The term 魷魚 / 鱿鱼 literally means 'squid fish'.
Which one should you use?
While both terms refer to squid, 烏賊 / 乌贼 is the more formal or biological term. In contrast, 魷魚 / 鱿鱼 is the common term used in daily and culinary contexts.
How do you pronounce it?
wūzéi
Did you know?
- The word 烏 in 烏賊 refers to the color 'black', but it is also the same character used for 'crow', linking the animal's ink-like color to a bird.
- While English separates 'squid' and 'octopus', the term 烏賊 was historically used more broadly in ancient Chinese texts to cover various cephalopods.
- The term 烏賊 appears in the 'Huangdi Neijing', an ancient medical text, showing that these creatures were noted by early Chinese scholars for more than just food.
Examples in context
- 在海鲜餐厅里，请给我一份烤鱿鱼。At the seafood restaurant, please give me a serving of grilled squid.
- 我昨天在街边摊吃了一份鱿鱼卷，味道非常好。I had a delicious squid roll from a street food stall yesterday.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “squid” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 烏賊, CC BY-SA 4.0.
