渔船

• Pinyin: yú chuán
• Hanzi breakdown: 渔 = 氵+ 鱼 (water + fish — to fish); 船 = 舟 + 几 (boat + platform — vessel)

Meaning

Fishing vessel; fishing boat. A watercraft used for catching fish or other marine life, ranging from small traditional boats to large industrial trawlers.

Can refer to artisanal small-scale wooden fishing boats or large modern industrial fishing vessels. In political and diplomatic contexts, Chinese fishing boats and fishing fleets frequently appear in discussions of maritime sovereignty, EEZ disputes, and fishing rights negotiations. Common in news reporting, maritime law, and coastal community contexts.

Examples

1. 南海渔业争端调解困难，因各方对领海基线和专属经济区解释分歧，渔船在拦截时难以统一维权。 Mediating the South China Sea fishery dispute is difficult because the parties differ sharply over the interpretation of territorial baselines and exclusive economic zones, leaving fishing boats with no unified legal basis to defend their rights when intercepted.
2. 这艘福建木质渔船由船工手工打造，历经近百年风浪仍保存完好，如今作为活态遗产陈列。 This wooden fishing boat from Fujian, hand-built by boatworkers, has survived nearly a hundred years of wind and waves and is now displayed as living heritage.
3. 台风季节损失巨大，渔业部门要求渔船装北斗终端并强制返港，近五年伤亡降了六成多。 Typhoon season causes huge losses, so the fishery authorities require fishing boats to install Beidou terminals and return to port under mandatory orders, cutting deaths and injuries by more than sixty percent over the past five years.

Usage Guide

Context: maritime, fishing, diplomacy, news

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 国际海洋法法庭裁定，该国海警对公海渔船强制登船检查，已超越公约赋予的管辖权。(The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled that the coast guard's compulsory boarding inspection of fishing vessels on the high seas had exceeded the jurisdiction granted by the convention.)
• 现代渔船装上探鱼仪、卫星导航和冷链设施后，效率和保鲜都大幅提高，但近海渔业也面临更大枯竭压力。(After modern fishing vessels are fitted with fish finders, satellite navigation, and cold-chain facilities, efficiency and freshness improve greatly, but nearshore fisheries also face greater depletion pressure.)

Don't Say

• 用渔船去旅游 — while not incorrect, 渔船 specifically denotes working fishing vessels; for recreational boating use 游船 (pleasure boat), 快艇 (speedboat), or 游艇 (yacht)

Origin & History

渔 (fishing — 氵water + 鱼 fish; to fish in water) + 船 (boat/vessel — 舟 boat + 几 small table/platform). Together: a boat used for fishing.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal