魚
fish
Readings
On'yomi
- ギョ
Kun'yomi
- うお
- さかな
- -ざかな
Nanori
- い
Meaning
魚 centers on the animal fish, a water creature with scales and fins.
Most common words using 魚
20 of 326- 魚さかなN5
fish
- 秋刀魚さんま
Pacific saury (Cololabis saira); mackerel pike
- 魚雷ぎょらい
torpedo
- 雑魚ざこ
small fish; small fry
- 金魚きんぎょN2
goldfish (Carassius auratus)
- 人魚にんぎょ
mermaid; merman
- 魚籠びく
fish basket; creel
- 魚介ぎょかい
marine products; seafood; fish and shellfish
- 魚類ぎょるい
fish; fishes
- 勇魚いさな
whale
- 鮮魚せんぎょ
fresh fish
- 翻車魚まんぼう
ocean sunfish (Mola mola)
- 熱帯魚ねったいぎょ
tropical fish
- 稚魚ちぎょ
fry; juvenile fish; fingerling
- 魚肉ぎょにく
fish meat
- 深海魚しんかいぎょ
deep-sea fish
- 焼き魚やきざかな
grilled fish
- 岩魚いわな
char (esp. the Japanese char, Salvelinus pluvius); charr
- 魚釣りさかなつり
fishing
- 魚屋さかなや
fish market; fish dealer; fishmonger
Study
Etymology
魚 is a pictograph of a fish, with the modern form showing a stylized head (top), body with scales (middle 田-like shape), and tail (bottom 灬).
Meaning mnemonic
The top part looks like a fish head, the middle 田 suggests its scaly body, and the four dots 灬 at the bottom are its tail fins. Together, 魚 is a fish.
Reading mnemonic
For ギョ, imagine a fish doing a big, exaggerated gyo! sound as it leaps out of the water: gyo -> ギョ.