Chinese symbol for “fish”
钓鱼
diào yú
Traditional: 釣魚
to fish (with line and hook); to angle; (fig.) to entrap; (Tw) to repeatedly nod one's head while dozing
The closest CC-CEDICT match for fish is 钓鱼 (diào yú), defined as: to fish (with line and hook); to angle; (fig.) to entrap; (Tw) to repeatedly nod one's head while dozing.
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 “fish”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鲜 (鱻) | xiān | fish; old variant of 鲜 (xiān) |
| 打鱼 (打魚) | dǎ yú | to fish |
| 捕鱼 (捕魚) | bǔ yú | to catch fish; to fish |
| 渔 (漁) | yú | fisherman; to fish |
| 鱄 | zhuān | fish (meaning variable: mackerel, anchovy, fresh-water fish) |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 钓鱼.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 垂钓 (垂釣) | chuí diào | angling |
| 钓竿 (釣竿) | diào gān | fishing rod; measure word: 根 (gēn) |
| 钓钩 (釣鉤) | diào gōu | fishhook |
| 钓具 (釣具) | diào jù | fishing tackle |
| 沽名钓誉 (沽名釣譽) | gū míng diào yù | to angle for fame (idiom); to fish for compliments |
| 鱼类 (魚類) | yú lèi | fishes |
| 鲨鱼 (鯊魚) | shā yú | shark |
| 捕鱼 (捕魚) | bǔ yú | to catch fish; to fish |
See also: Japanese symbol for “fish”.
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.