鱈

codfish, (kokuji)

Strokes22

Readings

鱈 centers on codfish, a specific fish species. It is a kokuji, a character created in Japan, so its meaning is tightly tied to that one fish.

出鱈目でたらめ
N3
nonsense; irresponsible remark; codswallop; hogwash; rubbish
鱈たら
gadid (any fish of the family Gadidae, incl. cod, haddock, whiting and pollack)
真鱈まだら
Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus)
チーズ鱈チーズたら
cheese tara; stick of cheese sandwiched between two thin strips of dried fish paste
助宗鱈すけそうだら
walleye pollack (Theragra chalcogramma); Alaska pollack
北極鱈ほっきょくだら
Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida); polar cod
大西洋鱈たいせいようたら
Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)
干し鱈ほしだら
dried cod
干鱈ひだら
dried cod
棒鱈ぼうだら
dried codfish soaked in water for few days, and cooked almost to dryness in soy sauce and water (Kyoto speciality)
滅多矢鱈めったやたら
reckless; indiscriminate

鱈 is a Japanese kokuji combining 魚 (fish) and 雪 (snow), likely referring to cod as a fish associated with snowy winter waters or its white flesh.

A fish 魚 that looks like snow 雪: cod has white, flaky flesh, so picture a codfish made of snow.

For セツ, imagine a codfish swimming in a cold sea, and the sound of the icy water is 'setsu' (セツ), like the crisp sound of snow crunching.