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Kotomora

鰉

sturgeon

Strokes20

Readings

On'yomi

  • コウ

Kun'yomi

  • ちょうざめ
  • ひがい

Meaning

鰉 refers specifically to the sturgeon, a large fish. The meaning is narrow and concrete, with no extended abstract senses.

Most common words using 鰉

  • 河鰉かわひがい

    Sarcocheilichthys variegatus variegatus (subspecies of cyprinid)

  • 琵琶鰉びわひがい

    Biwa oily gudgeon (Sarcocheilichthys variegatus microoculus)

  • 脂鰉あぶらひがい

    Sarcocheilichthys biwaensis (species of cyprinid)

  • 鰉ひがい

    Sarcocheilichthys variegatus (species of minnow)

Explore all words using 鰉 →

Study

Etymology

鰉 combines the fish radical 魚 with the phonetic component 皇, which likely indicates the sound. The character was created to name a specific fish, the sturgeon.

Meaning mnemonic

The fish radical 魚 tells you it's a fish, and the right side 皇 looks like an emperor. Imagine a majestic emperor fish—the sturgeon, prized for its size and caviar.

Reading mnemonic

For コウ, picture a sturgeon swimming in a koi pond: koi -> コウ, but this is no ordinary koi—it's the emperor of the pond.