noun
loach (any fish of family Cobitidae)
General term for loaches, a family of freshwater fish. In everyday Japanese, often refers specifically to the weather loach.
ドジョウは泥の中に住んでいる。
Loaches live in the mud.
noun
weather loach; pond loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)
The most common loach species in Japan, often simply called ドジョウ. Used in cooking and as a familiar pond fish.
子どもの頃、田んぼでドジョウを捕まえた。
When I was a child, I caught weather loaches in the rice paddies.
ドジョウ鍋は冬の味覚だ。
Loach hotpot is a winter delicacy.
Kanji form; rarely used in modern writing. The reading どんじょう and どんじょ are obsolete.
Abbreviated kanji form; very rare.
The origin is uncertain. The word is native Japanese, and the kanji 泥鰌 are ateji (phonetically used characters) for the fish.