尊魚 / 尊鱼
zūnyú
In Chinese, the word for trout is 尊魚 / 尊鱼 (zūnyú). Wiktionary also lists 鱒魚 / 鳟鱼 (zūnyú).
Meaning: fish (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 尊魚 / 尊鱼 | zūnyú |
| 鱒魚 / 鳟鱼 | zūnyú |
鱒魚 / 鳟鱼 is the standard term used to refer to the biological species of trout. You may also see the term 虹鳟鱼 used specifically when referring to rainbow trout.
Which one should you use?
The term 虹鳟鱼 is a specific subtype used for rainbow trout.
How do you pronounce it?
zūnyú
Did you know?
- Because 鱒魚 / 鳟鱼 and salmon are both salmonids, some menus in China use the term 三文魚 for salmon but substitute it with 虹鱒 to signal a more affordable price point for a similar taste.
- Chinese classifies fish into broad categories by their environment, and trout are often grouped under 'cold water fish' 冷水魚, a term that carries its own specific set of cooking expectations.
- The character 鱒 used in 鱒魚 / 鳟鱼 is a phono-semantic compound, where part of the character provides a hint to its sound and another part relates to its nature as a fish.
Examples in context
- 我喜欢吃鳟鱼。I like eating trout.
- 我买了虹鳟鱼来做晚餐。I bought rainbow trout to make dinner.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “trout” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
