雙鯉魚

Chinese

		two; double; pair two; double; pair; both
trad. (雙鯉魚)		雙	鯉魚
simp. (双鲤鱼)		双	鲤鱼
Literally: “two carp”.

Etymology

From a Han-dynasty poem, titled Ballad of Watering Horses in a Ditch by the Great Wall (《飲馬長城窟行》):

客從遠方來，遺我雙鯉魚。
呼兒烹鯉魚，中有尺素書。
長跪讀素書，書中意何如？
上言加餐飯，下言長相憶。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼。
呼儿烹鲤鱼，中有尺素书。
长跪读素书，书中意何如？
上言加餐饭，下言长相忆。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Han dynasty, Ballad of Watering Horses in a Ditch by the Great Wall (《飲馬長城窟行》), translation from The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry (2010) by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping

Kè cóng yuǎnfāng lái, yí wǒ shuāng lǐyú.
Hū ér pēng lǐyú, zhōng yǒu chǐ sùshū.
Cháng guì dú sùshū, shū zhōng yì hérú?
Shàng yán jiā cānfàn, xià yán cháng xiāngyì. [Pinyin]

From a far land a traveler came
and left me two carp.
I asked my children to cook the fish
and inside they found a silk letter.
I knelt long and read the letter.
What did that letter say?
It started, Try to eat.
and ended, I miss you always.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shuānglǐyú

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄨㄤ ㄌㄧˇ ㄩˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): soeng¹ lei⁵ jyu⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shuānglǐyú
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄨㄤ ㄌㄧˇ ㄩˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shuanglǐyú
    • Wade–Giles: shuang¹-li³-yü²
    • Yale: shwāng-lǐ-yú
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shuangliiyu
    • Palladius: шуанлиюй (šuanlijuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂu̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ li²¹⁴⁻²¹ y³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: soeng¹ lei⁵ jyu⁴
    • Yale: sēung léih yùh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: soeng¹ lei⁵ jy⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: sêng¹ léi⁵ yu⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sœːŋ⁵⁵ lei̯¹³ jyː²¹/

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• Middle Chinese: sraewng liX ngjo

Rime
Character	雙	鯉	魚
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	生 (21)	來 (37)	疑 (31)
Final (韻)	江 (9)	之 (19)	魚 (22)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Rising (X)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open
Division (等)	II	III	III
Fanqie	所江切	良士切	語居切
Baxter	sraewng	liX	ngjo
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʃˠʌŋ/	/lɨX/	/ŋɨʌ/
Pan Wuyun	/ʃᵚɔŋ/	/lɨX/	/ŋiɔ/
Shao Rongfen	/ʃɔŋ/	/lieX/	/ŋiɔ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʂaɨwŋ/	/lɨX/	/ŋɨə̆/
Li Rong	/ʃɔŋ/	/liəX/	/ŋiɔ/
Wang Li	/ʃɔŋ/	/lĭəX/	/ŋĭo/
Bernard Karlgren	/ʂɔŋ/	/liX/	/ŋi̯wo/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shuāng	lǐ	yú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	song1	lei5	jyu4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[s]roŋ  mə-rəʔ  [r.ŋ]a/

  (Zhengzhang): /*sroːŋ  rɯʔ  ŋa/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	雙	鯉	魚
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shuāng	lǐ	yú
Middle Chinese	‹ sræwng ›	‹ liX ›	‹ ngjo ›
Old Chinese	/*[s]roŋ/	/*mə-rəʔ/	/*[r.ŋ]a/
English	a pair	carp (n.)	fish (n.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	雙	鯉	魚
Reading #	1/1	1/1	1/1
No.	11932	7828	15939
Phonetic component	雙	里	魚
Rime group	東	之	魚
Rime subdivision	0	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	雙	里	魚
Old Chinese	/*sroːŋ/	/*rɯʔ/	/*ŋa/

Noun

雙鯉魚

1. (literary, figurative) letter; epistle

Synonyms

• (short form) 雙鯉／双鲤 (shuānglǐ)