How to Write 鳘 (mǐn) — Meaning “croaker”

Imagine a 'quick fish'—the croaker is known for making a croaking sound and moving swiftly. The bottom part 敏 looks like 每 (every) plus a hand 攵, so you can think of a fish that 'every hand' tries to catch because it is fast.

First write the fish radical 鱼 with 8 strokes, then write the lower component 敏 which has 11 strokes. Be careful with 敏: the left part is 每 (7 strokes) and the right is 攵 (4 strokes); do not confuse it with 母 or 每 alone. Keep the two halves balanced.

鳘 (mǐn, croaker) has the phonetic 敏, while 鲼 (fèn, ray fish) uses 分 as its phonetic and 鲽 (dié, flatfish) uses 枼. Visually, 鳘 is wider and squarer, 鲼 is more horizontal, and 鲽 has a longer right side. They also refer to completely different fish species.

鳘 appears mainly in seafood menus and marine biology writing, for example 鳘鱼 (croaker) and 鳘鱼肝 (croaker liver). In Chinese cuisine, the swim bladder of the croaker is highly valued for making fish maw soup, a luxury dish often served at banquets.

Common words containing 鳘 include: 鳘鱼 (mǐn yú) — croaker; 大鳘鱼 (dà mǐn yú) — Large croaker; brown croaker; 鳘鱼肝 (mǐn yú gān) — croaker liver.