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.
Loaches live in the mud.
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.
When I was a child, I caught weather loaches in the rice paddies.
Loach hotpot is a winter delicacy.
Japanese striped loach
blotched snakehead (Channa maculata)
Niwaella delicata (species of loach)
Katakana spelling is common in everyday use; the word is usually written in kana.
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.