鱼
yú
One scale links the market, the rod, the soup and the tank
The picture Head, scales and tail in one line, a body bending as it cuts through water. 鱼 cuts forward through water; 鸟 leaves the water and climbs into the air.
Where the picture shows up in 鱼
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fish on the stall
今天的鱼很便宜。
jīntiān de yú hěn piányi
Fish is cheap today.
Fish laid in rows on ice with a price card stuck in beside them
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coming up on the end of a line
爸爸周末去钓鱼。
bàba zhōumò qù diào yú
Dad goes fishing at the weekend.
A body bending in the water, hooked, rising up through the surface
钓鱼 is to hook a fish — the 钓 half is the hook and line.
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into the pot
给孩子煮点鱼汤。
gěi háizi zhǔ diǎn yútāng
Boil a little fish soup for the kid.
Cut pieces of fish turning the boiling water milky white
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straight out of the water
这家店的海鲜很贵。
zhè jiā diàn de hǎixiān hěn guì
The seafood at this place is expensive.
A net just emptied out, the catch still twitching and glinting
鲜 means fresh — built by standing 鱼 next to 羊.
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kept in a jar
我在家里养了两条金鱼。
wǒ zài jiā lǐ yǎng le liǎng tiáo jīnyú
I keep two goldfish at home.
A tail flicking inside a glass jar, circling the same small ring of water
条 is the measure word for long thin things — fish are counted with 条.
All of it in one picture
鱼 is one body cutting through water. Lay that body on a market stall and it carries a price; bring it up on the end of a line and it is fishing; drop it in a pot and it is soup. The state of having just come out of the water becomes freshness, and swimming inside a glass jar becomes the fish you keep. So any word with 鱼 in it still smells of water and moves its tail.