How to Write 鳣 (zhān) — Meaning “sturgeon”

Imagine a sturgeon as a very long fish. The left part 鱼 means fish, and the right part 亶 looks like a long, straight line representing the fish's body. So 鳣 is a 'long fish' that sounds like 'zhān'.

Write the left radical 鱼 first, then the right component 亶. The right side has many horizontal strokes, so keep them evenly spaced and parallel. A common mistake is making the character too narrow; remember it is a wide character.

鳣 (zhān) means sturgeon and has the right component 亶, while 鳓 (lè) means Chinese herring with right part 勒, and 鳔 (biào) means swim bladder with right part 票. The right side changes both the pronunciation and the specific fish or fish part.

鳣 is not common in daily conversation; it appears in scientific names or when talking about sturgeon fish (鳣鱼). In Chinese culture, sturgeon is valued for its caviar and is sometimes seen as a symbol of abundance due to its large size.

Common words containing 鳣 include: 鳣鱼 (zhān yú) — sturgeon; 捕鳣 (bǔ zhān) — Catch sturgeon; 大鳣 (dà zhān) — Large sturgeon.