年ねん魚ぎょ

noun

ayu; sweetfish

Archaic or literary name for the ayu fish (Plecoglossus altivelis). In modern Japanese, 鮎 (あゆ) is the standard word.

See also: アユ

• 古こ文ぶんでは「年ねん魚ぎょ」と書かいて「あゆ」と読よませることがある。

  In classical texts, 年魚 is sometimes used to write 'ayu'.

noun

annual fish

Literal reading of the kanji: a fish that lives for one year. This sense is rare and mostly found in explanatory or poetic contexts.

• 「年ねん魚ぎょ」という字じは、一いち年ねんで一いっ生しょうを終おえる魚さかなを表あらわすこともある。

  The characters 年魚 can also represent a fish that completes its life in one year.