Fish character 鯇

In Chinese, 鯇 names grass carp.

The Shuowen Jiezi is an early Chinese dictionary from the Han period; it records 鯇 as a fish name. The character combines 魚, its fish component, with 完 as a sound cue.

A Tang-dynasty account describes farmers adding young 鯇 to rain-filled fields, where the fish ate grass roots and grew as a food crop. Later Chinese works connect 鯇 with 鯶 and 草魚; an older dictionary gloss pairs 鯇 with 鱧, though later commentators distinguish the fish names.

What does 鯇 mean when someone sends it?

Context decides which fish 鯇 names.

In present-day Chinese and Cantonese food writing, 鯇魚 means grass carp. Japanese dictionaries also record 鯇 as a name for Biwa trout or amago. Check the language before translating it for someone outside that language community.