How to Write 鳍 (qí) — Meaning “fin”

Imagine a fish (鱼) saying "chee" (like qí) while showing off its fin. The right side 耆 looks like an old person with a curved back, reminding you that fins are often curved on the fish's back.

The left radical 鱼 has a horizontal stroke that turns into a hook at the bottom, so make sure it is not too long. The right side 耆 has many horizontal lines; keep them evenly spaced and shorter than the left side to avoid making the character too wide.

鳍 means 'fin' and is used for fish body parts, while 鲭 (qīng) and 鲮 (líng) are names of specific fish species. Visually, 鳍 has a more complex right side (耆) compared to 鲭's 青 and 鲮's 夌.

You use 鳍 in scientific or educational contexts when talking about fish anatomy, such as 鱼鳍 (fish fin), 背鳍 (dorsal fin), or 胸鳍 (pectoral fin). It is not common in daily conversation but appears in biology books or aquarium descriptions.

Common words containing 鳍 include: 鱼鳍 (yú qí) — Fish fin; 背鳍 (bèi qí) — Dorsal fin; 胸鳍 (xiōng qí) — pectoral fin.