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イワシ (いわし) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

イワシ

い

わ

し

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

sardine; pilchard

usually written using kana alone

Refers to sardines, especially the Japanese pilchard (Sardinops melanostictus). Commonly used in cooking and everyday contexts.

今こん夜やのおかずはイワシの塩しお焼やきだ。
Tonight's side dish is grilled salted sardines.
イワシは青あお魚ざかなの一いっ種

しゅ

で

、

DHA

が

豊ほう

富ふ

です

。

Sardines are a type of blue-backed fish and are rich in DHA.

Written forms

イワシUsage54%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is common for fish names in everyday use, especially in markets and menus.
いわしUsage25%
Hiragana spelling is also common and natural for this word.
鰯いわしUsage20%
Kanji form is recognized but less common in practice; usually written in kana.
鰮いわしUsage1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji variant; learners are unlikely to encounter it.

Kanji

鰯sardine, (kokuji)
鰮sardine

Etymology

The word is native Japanese. The kanji 鰯 is a kokuji (Japanese-made character) combining 魚 (fish) and 弱 (weak), referring to the fish's tendency to weaken quickly after being caught.