鯨魚 / 鲸鱼
The Cantonese word for whale is 鯨魚 / 鲸鱼.
The term is used to refer to a large sea mammal.
Meaning: large sea mammal (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 鯨 (whale) and 魚 (fish).
Did you know?
- In Cantonese, the word 鯨 can be used in the compound 鯨吞, which literally means 'whale swallow' and describes the act of greedily consuming something in one gulp.
- The character 鯨 contains the radical for 'fish' on the left and a phonetic component on the right that historically evoked the sound of a great cry or roar.
- If you see the character 鯨 in a menu, it is unlikely to be a standard dish, as whales are not traditionally part of the Cantonese diet.
Example sentences for Cantonese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “whale” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
