The sakana-hen radical (魚), meaning “fish,” appears in the kanji for many popular seafood varieties found on Japanese menus and at the sushi counter. Knowing these kanji makes it much easier to read menus and identify fish by name in Japan. This article introduces useful fish-related kanji that use the sakana-hen radical.
| Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
| 鮭 | さけ | sake | salmon |
| 鱒 | ます | masu | trout |
| 鮪 | まぐろ | maguro | tuna |
| 鯵 | あじ | aji | horse mackerel |
| 鰯 | いわし | iwashi | sardine |
| 鰹 | かつお | katsuo | bonito |
| 鯖 | さば | saba | mackerel |
| 鯛 | たい | tai | sea bream |
| 鱈 | たら | tara | cod |
| 鰊 | にしん | nishin | herring |
| 鰤 | ぶり | buri | yellowtail |
| 鱸 | すずき | suzuki | sea bass |
| 鰈 | かれい | karei | flounder |
| 鰻 | うなぎ | unagi | eel |
| 鱧 | はも | hamo | dagger-tooth pike conger |
| 鱚 | きす | kisu | sand-smelt |
| 鰆 | さわら | sawara | Spanish mackerel |
| 鮃 | ひらめ | hirame | sole |
| 鮎 | あゆ | ayu | sweetfish |
| 鮫 | さめ | same | shark |
| 鯉 | こい | koi | carp |
| 鯨 | くじら | kujira | whale |
All of these Kanji are a little difficult as we don’t learn them at elementary schools. In other words, you might impress Japanese people if you know them 😉
