魚水

简 鱼水 · 繁 魚水
Mandarin · pinyin yú shuǐ

Meanings

  1. fish and water (metaphor for an intimate relationship or inseparability)
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Characters in this entry

魚
yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
水
shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
鱼
yú · fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–3 · yu2 shui3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

魚水 · find source passages ↗ · 鱼水 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun · Etymology 1

  1. (figuratively) intimate relationship; inseparability

noun · Etymology 2

  1. (Guangzhou Cantonese, Vietnam, Cambodia) fish sauce

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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