泥鰌

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 泥鰌 – see 泥鰍 (“loach”). (This term is a variant form of 泥鰍).

Japanese

泥鰌 (dojō): a pond loach

Kanji in this term
泥	鰌
Grade: S	Hyōgai
irregular

Alternative spellings
鰌 鯲 ドジョウ どぜう

Etymology

Unknown. Historical sources from the Muromachi period spell this in kanji as 土長 (literally “earth, soil + long”), and in historical kana as どぢやう (dodyau). Theories suggest that the name may refer to the fish's apparent ability to thrive in muddy conditions. The kanji is an orthographic borrowing from Chinese 泥鰌 (whence modern Chinese 泥鰍／泥鳅 (níqiū)).

This word has a common unetymological historical kana spelling, どぜう (dozeu), which was popularized by Edo period merchants and is still in use today in restaurants.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) どじょー [dòjóó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [do̞ʑo̞ː]

Noun

泥鰌(どじょう) or 泥鰌(ドジョウ) • (dojō) ^{←どぢやう (dodyau) or ドヂヤウ (dodyau)?}

1. Misgurnus anguillicaudatus: the pond loach, weather loach, or weatherfish

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ドジョウ.

Further reading

• Etymology at Nihon Jiten (in Japanese)
• Etymology at Gogen-Allguide (in Japanese)