How to Write 鳢 (lǐ) — Meaning “snakehead fish”

Imagine a snakehead fish (鳢) swimming through a beautiful, abundant (豊) underwater palace made of coral and treasure. The 鱼 radical reminds you it is a fish, and the 豊 part suggests the fish is rich and ornate, helping you recall its shape and sound.

The left side 鱼 is written narrower than the right side 豊, and the 鱼 radical has a hook at the bottom of the 田. The 豊 component has a 豆 (bean) at the bottom with an extra horizontal stroke—be careful not to confuse it with 里 or 豊. The overall balance is left-compact, right-expanded.

鳢 (lǐ) refers specifically to the snakehead fish, while 鳓 (lè) is a different fish called the Chinese herring, and 鳔 (biào) means swim bladder. Visually, 鳢 has 豊 on the right, 鳓 has 勒 (lè) on the right, and 鳔 has 票 (piào). Their pronunciations and meanings are distinct.

鳢 is used mainly in biological or culinary contexts to refer to the snakehead fish, such as in 鳢鱼 (lǐ yú) or 乌鳢 (wū lǐ, black snakehead). It is not a common HSK character but appears in fishing, cooking, and traditional Chinese medicine, where snakehead fish is valued for healing wounds.

Common words containing 鳢 include: 鳢鱼 (lǐ yú) — snakehead fish; 乌鳢 (wū lǐ) — snakehead fish; 斑鳢 (bān lǐ) — Snakehead fish.