How to Write 鲤 (lǐ) — Meaning “Carp”

Imagine a fish (鱼) swimming inside (里) a small pond, and that fish is a carp. The sound 'lǐ' can be recalled by thinking 'carp lee', where 'lee' is like the English word for a sheltered area.

Write the left radical 鱼 first, making sure the bottom horizontal stroke angles upward slightly for balance. The right side 里 should be roughly the same height as the left, and a common mistake is making the 田 part too wide, which makes the character look lopsided.

The right side of 鲤 is 里, while 鲅 (bà) has 发 and 鲆 (píng) has 平. Their meanings differ: 鲤 means carp, 鲅 means mackerel, and 鲆 means flatfish. Pay attention to the right component to tell them apart visually.

鲤 appears in words like 鲤鱼 (carp) and 锦鲤 (koi fish). In Chinese culture, carp symbolize success and perseverance, and 锦鲤 has become internet slang for good luck, often used in social media to wish for fortune.

Common words containing 鲤 include: 鲤鱼 (lǐ yú) — Carp; 红鲤鱼 (hóng lǐ yú) — Red carp; 锦鲤 (jǐn lǐ) — Koi fish.