elongate ilisha; Chinese herring
A species of herring-like fish (Ilisha elongata) found in East Asian waters. The name is usually written in kana.
I bought fresh Chinese herring at the market.
Hiragana spelling, also used.
Ateji kanji spelling; the reading ひら is a gikun/jukujikun for these characters. Rarely used in practice.
The origin of the name ヒラ is uncertain. The kanji 曹白魚 are ateji assigned to this fish.