How to Write 鲱 (fēi) — Meaning “Herring”

Imagine a fish (鱼) that is 'not' (非) like other fish because it is a herring, which is often pickled or canned. You can also think of the sound 'fēi' like 'fay' to recall it is a specific type of fish.

Write the left radical 鱼 first (8 strokes), then the right part 非 (8 strokes). Keep the left side narrow and the right side wider to maintain balance. A common mistake is to make the 非 part too tall or to forget the horizontal stroke in 鱼.

鲱 (fēi) means herring and contains 非 on the right, while 鲑 (guī) means salmon and has 圭 (guī) on the right. 鲒 (jié) refers to a different fish and has 吉 (jí) on the right. The right-side component clearly distinguishes their meanings and pronunciations.

鲱 appears mainly in the word 鲱鱼 (fēi yú, herring) and 鲱鱼罐头 (fēi yú guàn tou, canned herring). Culturally, it is not a common fish in Chinese cuisine, but it is known internationally from Swedish surströmming, a fermented canned herring.

Common words containing 鲱 include: 鲱鱼 (fēi yú) — Herring; 鲱鱼罐头 (fēi yú guàn tou) — Canned herring; 太平洋鲱 (tài píng yáng fēi) — Pacific herring..