How to Write 鱥 (guì) — Meaning “Minnow”

Imagine a tiny minnow swimming past an old calendar: the left side 魚 is the fish, and the right side 歲 looks like a stack of years, reminding you that this fish is small but lives through many seasons. You could also think 'gui' sounds like 'guy' — a guy fishing for minnows with a big net.

Pay special attention to the balance between the left fish radical and the complex right side 歲. The right side has many strokes, so keep the left side slightly narrower to avoid making the character too wide. A common mistake is to make the 魚 radical too large, which throws off the proportion.

Three common words are 鱥鱼 (guì yú, meaning 'minnow fish'), 小鱥 (xiǎo guì, meaning 'minnow' or 'small minnow'), and 鱥群 (guì qún, meaning 'school of minnows'). These are used in fishing, biology, or aquarium contexts to talk about the fish or groups of them.

鱥 is not used in everyday conversation; it appears mainly in scientific or literary descriptions of fish, especially in texts about freshwater species. Culturally, minnows are not as famous as larger fish like carp, so you might only see this character in specialized fishing guides or nature articles.

Common words containing 鱥 include: 鱥鱼 (guì yú) — Minnow fish; 小鱥 (xiǎo guì) — minnow; 鱥群 (guì qún) — School of minnows.