How to Write 鲣 (jiān) — Meaning “Skipjack tuna / Bonito”

Imagine a fish (鱼) that is so firm and tough (坚) that it can be caught and smoked into hard bonito blocks. The "jian" sound can also help you recall "tuna" if you think of the word "bonito" which is similar to "bonito" in English.

The left radical 鱼 is written with 8 strokes; make sure the bottom horizontal line turns into a rising stroke (提) before the right component. The right part 坚 has 7 strokes: first write the two vertical lines on the left, then the top horizontal, the two dots, and finally the bottom horizontal. A common mistake is making the left 鱼 too wide or misplacing the dot order in 坚.

鲣 (skipjack tuna) uses the right component 坚 (jiān), while 鲅 (bà, Spanish mackerel) uses 发 (fā) and 鲆 (píng, flatfish) uses 平 (píng). They all share the 鱼 radical but differ in meaning and pronunciation. Visually, the right parts are distinct: 坚 has a box-like structure with dots, while 发 and 平 are simpler.

鲣 appears mainly in seafood and culinary contexts, such as 鲣鱼 (bonito) and 熏鲣 (smoked bonito). It is especially common in Japanese cuisine, where bonito flakes (katsuobushi) are used to make dashi broth. In Chinese, it is less frequent but still recognized in menus and marine product descriptions.

Common words containing 鲣 include: 鲣鱼 (jiān yú) — Bonito; 鲣鱼汤 (jiān yú tāng) — Bonito soup; 熏鲣 (xūn jiān) — Smoked bonito.