魚 – Kanji Meaning, Reading, and Common Words

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What does 魚 mean in Japanese?

魚 means fish. Its everyday reading is the kun’yomi さかな (sakana): you will hear 魚を食べる (to eat fish) constantly in a country where fish is central to the diet.

The on’yomi ギョ appears in compounds like 金魚 (kingyo, goldfish) and 人魚 (ningyo, mermaid). A second kun’yomi うお (uo) survives in words like 魚市場 (uoichiba, fish market). The character comes from a drawing of a fish, and as the radical うおへん it appears in the names of many individual fish.

Reading

On’yomi: ギョ (gyo)

Kun’yomi: さかな (sakana), うお (uo)

Basic Information

Kanji 魚
Meaning fish
Stroke Count 11
JLPT Level N4

How to Understand This Kanji

魚 (sakana) is the ordinary word for fish, both the animal and the food. In compounds the reading shifts: 焼き魚 (yakizakana, grilled fish) voices さ to ざ, while on’yomi words like 金魚 (kingyo, goldfish) and 人魚 (ningyo, mermaid) use ギョ. 魚屋 (sakanaya) is a fish shop, parallel to 肉屋 (butcher). The older reading うお (uo) is rarer but appears in 魚市場 (uoichiba, fish market). As food, 魚 covers everything from 焼き魚 (grilled fish) to the fish used in sushi and sashimi.

Common Words

  • 魚（さかな / sakana） — fish
  • 焼き魚（やきざかな / yakizakana） — grilled fish
  • 金魚（きんぎょ / kingyo） — goldfish
  • 魚屋（さかなや / sakanaya） — fish shop, fishmonger
  • 小魚（こざかな / kozakana） — small fish
  • 人魚（にんぎょ / ningyo） — mermaid

Example Sentences

  • 魚は体にいいです。

    さかなはからだにいいです。 / Sakana wa karada ni ii desu.

    Fish is good for your health.

  • 川で小さい魚を見ました。

    かわでちいさいさかなをみました。 / Kawa de chiisai sakana o mimashita.

    I saw small fish in the river.

  • 晩ご飯に焼き魚を食べました。

    ばんごはんにやきざかなをたべました。 / Bangohan ni yakizakana o tabemashita.

    I ate grilled fish for dinner.

Related Kanji

  • 肉

    — Meat — 魚 and 肉 are the two big protein categories in Japanese food; menus and conversations constantly contrast them

  • 鳥

    — Bird — 魚 and 鳥 are both pictographs of animals, and both name a creature and its meat; learning them together reinforces the pattern

  • 川

    — River — 川の魚 (river fish); 川 gives you the natural habitats where 魚 vocabulary shows up

When Learners Usually See This Kanji

Use さかな as your default reading; it covers the word on its own and most food contexts. Switch to ギョ for two-kanji on’yomi compounds like 金魚 and 人魚.

Notice the voicing change in compounds: 焼き + 魚 becomes やきざかな (yakizakana), not やきさかな. This sound change, called rendaku, is common when 魚 is the second element.

魚 is also a radical (うおへん). The names of many fish, such as 鮭 (salmon) and 鯛 (sea bream), put 魚 on the left. You do not need those kanji at N4, but recognizing the radical tells you instantly that a kanji names a fish, which is handy on menus.

Summary

魚 means fish, read さかな on its own and ギョ in compounds like 金魚. Watch the rendaku in 焼き魚 (yakizakana), and remember the pair 魚屋 / 肉屋 for shops.