How to Write 鲻 (zī) — Meaning “Mullet”

Picture a fish (鱼) saying "zī zī" as it swims, matching the sound of the right side 兹. Alternatively, imagine a mullet fish with two horizontal lines on its body, like the two 幺 (silk) parts stacked in 兹.

The left radical 鱼 ends with a rising stroke (提) instead of a flat line. On the right, 兹 starts with two dots and a horizontal stroke on top, followed by two 幺 parts — make sure the second 幺 is slightly wider than the first. Common mistake is writing the top part like 艹 (grass) instead of the correct dot-dot-horizontal sequence.

鲻 has 兹 (zī) on the right and means mullet, while 鲑 has 圭 (guī) on the right and means salmon, and 鲒 has 吉 (jí) on the right and refers to a different fish. Visually, the right sides look distinct: 兹 has two 幺 stacked, 圭 has two 土 stacked, and 吉 has 士 above 口.

鲻 appears in words like 鲻鱼 (zī yú, mullet fish), often used in cooking or fishing contexts along China's coast. It is also part of 鲻鱼头 (zī yú tóu), which describes a hairstyle that is short on the sides and long on top, resembling the shape of a mullet fish.

Common words containing 鲻 include: 鲻鱼 (zī yú) — Mullet fish; 捕鲻 (bǔ zī) — Catch mullet; 鲻鱼头 (zī yú tóu) — Mullet hairstyle.