41379
I noticed this coincidence and I couldn't help wondering since other parts are
based off of Chinese(kanji)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-02T03:01:31.540
41377
2016-12-02T03:48:53.707
18913
question
chinese
Is there a connection between the Chinese 鱼(fish, or yu) and ゆ(yu) looking like a fish?
No.

Hiragana ゆ developed from the kanji character 由 (see for example
[this](http://blog.livedoor.jp/gisui_shodo/archives/1028072260.html)).

Japanese on-yomi reading of kanji 魚 is ぎょ and there is no relation to the
Chinese _yu_.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-02T03:13:12.253
41378
2016-12-02T03:48:53.707
2016-12-02T03:48:53.707
11104
11104
41377
answer
No, it's a coincidence. ゆ is over a thousand years old and is thought to be
derived from 由. You can find a chart of the kanji that hiragana developed from
on [Wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B9%B3%E4%BB%AE%E5%90%8D).

Mandarin _yú_ is more recent and corresponds to Japanese 魚 _gyo_ , both of
which developed from Middle Chinese _ngyo_ (where the digraph ‹ng› represents
the nasal velar sound [ŋ], as in English _ring_ ). At the time ゆ developed,
the sound was too different from _yu_ to make this kind of connection.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-02T03:15:47.490
41379
2016-12-02T03:15:47.490
41377
answer