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Kotomora

鯎

Japanese dace

Strokes18

Readings

On'yomi

—

Kun'yomi

  • うぐい

Meaning

鯎 refers specifically to the Japanese dace, a type of freshwater fish. Its meaning is a single concrete species name rather than a broad conceptual idea.

Study

Etymology

鯎 is a Japanese kokuji (国字) created by combining the fish radical 魚 with the phonetic component 成, likely chosen for its sound to represent the native word うぐい.

Meaning mnemonic

The left side 魚 means fish, and the right side 成 can suggest 'becoming' or 'achieving'. Imagine a fish that becomes a dace when it grows up: 鯎 is the Japanese dace.

Reading mnemonic

For うぐい, picture a dace swimming in a clear stream, and a child pointing and saying 'Ooh, gooey!' (うぐい) because the fish looks slippery. The 'ooh-gooey' sound hooks the reading うぐい.