Japanese symbol for “loach”
泥鰌
どじょう
Romaji: dojou
loach (any fish of family Cobitidae)
In Japanese, loach is 泥鰌, read どじょう (dojou).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n loach (any fish of family Cobitidae)
- n weather loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus); pond loach
Written forms: 泥鰌、鰌. Readings: どじょう、どんじょう、どんじょ、ドジョウ.
Kanji and stroke order
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 泥棒 | どろぼう dorobou | thief; burglar; robber |
| 泥酔 | でいすい deisui | being dead drunk; drunken stupor |
| 泥沼 | どろぬま doronuma | bog; marsh; swamp |
| 雲泥の差 | うんでいのさ undeinosa | wide difference; a world of difference |
| 汚泥 | おでい odei | sludge; slime; dregs |
| 泥炭 | でいたん deitan | peat |
| 仏泥鰌 | ほとけどじょう hotokedojou | Japanese eight-barbel loach (Lefua echigonia) |
| 台湾泥鰌 | たいわんどじょう taiwandojou | blotched snakehead (Channa maculata) |
See also: Chinese symbol for “loach”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.