Chinese symbol for “carp”
鲤
lǐ
Traditional: 鯉
carp
The closest CC-CEDICT match for carp is 鲤 (lǐ), defined as: carp.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “carp”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鲤鱼 (鯉魚) | lǐ yú | carp |
| 挑刺 | tiāo cì | to carp; nitpicking |
| 靠北 | kào běi | (Tw) (slang) to rattle on; to carp; stop whining!; shut the hell up!; fuck!; damn! (from Taiwanese 哭爸, Tai-lo pr. [khàu-pē], "to cry over one's dad's death") |
| 挑毛剔刺 | tiāo máo tī cì | to find fault; to carp |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 鲤.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鲤鱼 (鯉魚) | lǐ yú | carp |
| 锦鲤 (錦鯉) | jǐn lǐ | koi (Cyprinus carpio haematopterus) |
| 海鲤 (海鯉) | hǎi lǐ | sea bream |
| 裸鲤 (裸鯉) | luǒ lǐ | naked carp (Gymnocypris przewalskii) |
| 鲤鱼打挺 (鯉魚打挺) | lǐ yú dǎ tǐng | (martial arts, gymnastics) to kip up (spring upright from supine without hands); (fig.) to jolt upright |
| 鲤鱼旗 (鯉魚旗) | lǐ yú qí | koinobori, a Japanese carp-shaped windsock flown to celebrate Children's Day |
See also: Japanese symbol for “carp”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.