如 鱼 得 水

rú yú dé shuǐdictionary entry

like a fish back in water (idiom) / glad to be back in one's proper surroundings

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-f0399c07077722f5. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

如魚得水 如鱼得水 [ru2 yu2 de2 shui3] /like a fish back in water (idiom); glad to be back in one's proper surroundings/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 如魚得水

如
rú
as / as if / such as
鱼
yú
fish (CL:條|条[tiáo],尾[wěi]) / used in the names of various aquatic animals that are not fish (including abalone 鮑魚|鲍鱼[bào yú], alligators and crocodiles 鱷魚|鳄鱼[è yú] and octopi 章魚|章鱼[zhāng yú])
Yú
surname Yu
得
dé
to obtain / to get / to gain / to catch (a disease) / proper / suitable / proud / contented / to allow / to permit / ready / finished
dè
used in 得瑟[dè se]
de
structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc
děi
to have to / must / ought to / to need to
水
shuǐ
water / (after a name) ... River / to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[huì shuǐ] and 水性[shuǐ xìng]) / (coll.) lacking in substance / shoddy / (bound form) additional cost / extra income / classifier for washings of a garment
Shuǐ
surname Shui / Shui ethnic group

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.