Editing Merfolk (section)

{{Short description|Legendary water-dwelling beings}}
{{redirect|Merpeople|other uses|Merfolk (disambiguation)}}
'''Merfolk''', '''Mercreatures''', '''Mermen''' or '''Merpeople''' are legendary water-dwelling, human-like beings. They are attested in [[folklore]] and [[Myth#Mythography|mythology]] throughout the ages in various parts of the world. Merfolk, Merpeople, or simply Mer refers to humanoid creatures that live in deep waters like Mermaids, Sirens, Cecaelia etc.

In English, female merfolk are called [[mermaid]]s, although in a strict sense, mermaids are confined to beings who are half-woman and half-fish in appearance; male merfolk are called [[Merman|mermen]]. Depending on the story, they can be described as either ugly or beautiful.

Chinese ''rényú'' ({{lang|zh|人魚}}) stands for "merfolk", but in ancient geographical or natural historical tracts, the term referred to "human-fish" or "man-fish" purported to inhabit rivers or lakes in certain parts of China. The Japanese analogue ''[[ningyo]]'' ({{lang|zh|人魚}}) likewise translates to "human-fish" while, at the same time, having also applied to various human-like fish recorded in writings from medieval times into the Edo Period.