General term for rays and skates (superorder Batoidea). Usually written in katakana as エイ.
水族館で大きなエイを見た。
I saw a big ray at the aquarium.
エイは海底に住んでいる。
Rays live on the ocean floor.
エイ (rays) and サメ (sharks) are both cartilaginous fish that learners often lump together, but エイ have flattened bodies and gill slits on their underside while サメ have torpedo-shaped bodies and lateral gill slits.
As a fish, 鱝 (えい, ray) is naturally counted with 尾 (び).
Japanese butterfly ray
sawfish
Japanese eagle ray
spinetail devil ray; Japanese devil ray
skate (Rajidae spp., esp. Kwangtung skate, Dipturus kwangtungensis)
Katakana spelling is standard for this animal name; usually written in kana.
Hiragana spelling, also common.
Rare kanji form; not in common use.
Rare kanji form; not in common use.
Rare kanji form; not in common use.
The origin is uncertain. The word is native Japanese, and the kanji forms are rare and not etymologically transparent.