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雷魚 (らいぎょ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

雷らい魚ぎょ

also: らいひー · らいひい

ら

い

ぎょ

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

noun

blotched snakehead (Channa maculata)

A species of snakehead fish; less commonly encountered in Japan compared to the northern snakehead.

See also: 台湾泥鰌

雷らい魚ぎょの一いっ種しゅであるタイワンドジョウは、台たい湾わんや中ちゅう国ごく南なん部ぶに分ぶん布ぷしている。
The blotched snakehead, a type of snakehead fish, is distributed in Taiwan and southern China.

2

noun

northern snakehead (Channa argus)

Written forms

雷らい魚ぎょUsage38%
Standard kanji spelling for the snakehead fish.
ライギョUsage62%
ライヒー
kana-only spelling
Rare katakana spelling reflecting a dialectal or older loan adaptation; not common in modern standard Japanese.
ライヒイ
kana-only spelling
Rare katakana spelling variant; not common in modern standard Japanese.

Only with reading らいぎょ

The most well-known snakehead species in Japan; often simply called 雷魚. Reading is restricted to らいぎょ.

See also: カムルチー

カムルチーは雷らい魚ぎょとも呼よばれ、釣つりの対たい象しょう魚ぎょとして人にん気きがある。
The northern snakehead is also called 雷魚 and is popular as a game fish.

Kanji

雷thunder, lightning bolt
魚fish

Similar words

カムルチー
カムルチー specifically refers to the northern snakehead (Channa argus), while 雷魚 can refer to snakeheads in general, including the blotched snakehead.
タイワンドジョウ
タイワンドジョウ is the Japanese name for the blotched snakehead (Channa maculata), which is one species encompassed by the broader term 雷魚.

Etymology

The kanji 雷 (thunder) and 魚 (fish) may refer to the snakehead's aggressive behavior or appearance, but the exact origin is uncertain. The reading らいぎょ is the on'yomi of the kanji. The katakana forms ライヒー and ライヒイ likely derive from a Chinese dialectal pronunciation.