钓鱼
diàoyū · HSK 7
go fishing
🎣 钓 = metal hook (钅) + ladle (勺) — a hook scoops fish like a ladle scoops soup
The left radical 钅 means metal, and 勺 (sháo) means ladle or scoop. A fishing hook is basically a metal scoop pulling fish from water. Add 鱼 (fish) and you get the full activity: to angle.
鱼 — pictograph of a fish
鱼 is a pictograph that originally depicted a fish, with the head, body with fins, and tail clearly visible in oracle bone and bronze script. The traditional form 魚 preserves four dots at the bottom representing the tail or fins. The modern simplified form 鱼 replaces those dots with a single horizontal stroke.