根魚

根魚

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
根	魚
ね Grade: 3	うお Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Compound of 根 (ne, “root”) +‎ 魚 (uo, “fish”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) ね​うお [néꜜùò] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [ne̞ɯ̟ᵝo̞]

Noun

根魚 (hiragana ねうお, rōmaji neuo, historical hiragana ねうを)

1. a non-migratory fish that lives among the roots of seaweed or coral
2. alternative for 鮎並 (ainame): a greenling (kind of fish)

Synonyms

• 根 (ね)付 (つ)き魚 (うお) (netsukiuo)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
根	魚
ね Grade: 3	さかな > ざかな Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Compound of 根 (ne, “root”) +‎ 魚 (sakana, “fish”).[1][2]The sakana changes to zakana as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) ねざ​かな [nèzáꜜkànà] (Nakadaka – [2])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [ne̞za̠ka̠na̠]

Noun

根魚 (hiragana ねざかな, rōmaji nezakana)

1. a non-migratory fish that lives among the roots of seaweed or coral

Usage notes

The neuo reading appears to be more common.

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN