The Fish: 魚 — See Scales and Tail in Every Stroke

A Fish That Swims on Paper

Take a look at 魚 (さかな, sakana). It’s one of the oldest pictographs in the language. The top stroke is the head, the middle box is the body with scales, and the four dots at the bottom are the tail fin. Even after thousands of years, you can almost see it wriggling.

When you write it, think of the fish’s head first, then the body, then the tail. The reading さかな is the everyday word for fish, but in compounds, it often becomes ぎょ, as in 魚市場 (うおいちば, uoichiba) — fish market. Notice that 魚 can also be read うお, which is the older form you still see in some place names.

Yesterday we met 鳥 (とり, tori), the bird. Today’s fish is its water cousin. Both are pure pictographs, drawn from life. When you see 魚 at the start of a kanji, it usually has something to do with fish or water creatures.

Fresh and Alive: 鮮

Now put 魚 together with 羊 (ひつじ, hitsuji) — sheep. That’s 鮮 (あたらしい, atarashii), meaning “fresh.” The story goes that fresh fish and fresh meat were both prized, so the kanji combines the two. The reading あたらしい is the common adjective for “new,” but in food contexts, 鮮 means “fresh” as in 新鮮 (しんせん, shinsen).

So when you see 鮮 on a menu, you know the fish is good. It’s a reminder that kanji are not random — they carry little pictures of the world.

Fishing for Meaning: 漁

Add a bit of water to 魚 — the three drops on the left — and you get 漁 (りょう, ryou), which means “fishing” or “fishery.” The water radical shows you’re doing something with fish in water. 漁 is used in 漁師 (りょうし, ryoushi) — fisherman. You’ll also see it in 漁港 (ぎょこう, gyokou) — fishing port.

Notice the reading here: りょう. That’s a different reading from さかな. Kanji often have multiple readings, and context tells you which one to use. When 魚 stands alone, it’s usually さかな. When it’s in a compound like 漁, it often becomes りょう or ぎょ.

Water Creatures: 魚 and Friends

魚 is not just a word — it’s a radical. Many water creature kanji use it. For example, 鯨 (くじら, kujira) — whale — is a huge fish in the kanji, even though it’s a mammal. And 鮫 (さめ, same) — shark — keeps the fish radical too. You don’t need to learn those today, but you can see how the pictograph branches out.

In your city, you might see 魚 on a sign at the fish market. Even if you can’t read the whole word, you’ll know it’s about fish. That’s the power of pictographs — they speak before you know the sounds.

Your Turn: See the Fish

Next time you see 魚, don’t just read it. Look at it. The head, the body, the tail. Then notice how 鮮 and 漁 build on that picture. You already know more than you think — you just need to see it.

Tomorrow, we’ll put the sun behind a tree in 東 (east), and you’ll use everything you’ve learned to guess meanings of new kanji. You’ll be surprised how much you can figure out.