The Chinese character "魚" is read phonetically as "gyo", but has several kun-yomi readings, such as “ウオ (uo)", “お(o)", and “さかな(sakana)".
While the word " uo" has been used as a generic term for fish since the time of the Kiki Manyoshu (Kojiki, Nihon Shoki, Manyoshu), "sakana" seems to have started to be used in the same sense only relatively recently, in the modern period.
The Japanese Dictionary of the Japanese Language states, "It is thought that sakana, a generic term for fish species that originated in Edo (eastern Japan), gradually expanded its influence to western Japan, displacing the uo-based term.
The following is a summary of "Uo" and “Sakana".
◎”uo".
・"Uo" has been used as a generic term for fish since the time of the Kiki Manyoshu (Kojiki, Nihonshoki, Manyoshu).
・It was originally pronounced as "io.
・In old Japanese, it was written "uwo" (紆鳴), “uwo" (宇乎), etc.
・In western Japan, "uo" is still relatively common.
◎"Sakana"
・A word that has existed since the Nara period (710-794).
・The original meaning of "Sakana" is food served with sake. Sakana (snacks) for sake
⇒Sakana" is the combination of "saka" (sake) and "na" (side dish). Fish was often served as a side dish.
・It was not until the Edo period (1603-1867) that the meaning of "fish" was changed to
“魚”, and this term is more commonly used in the Kanto region.
◎ “gyo”
・Chinese phonetic reading of the kanji character of Chinese origin.
◎Others
・like a fish that has taken on water", "like a fish that has taken on water”
・"like a fish that has taken on water"
As an example of a personal name, the childhood name of Kukai, an esoteric Buddhist monk in the early Heian period, was Saeki no Mao.
「魚」という字の読み方について
「魚」という漢字の音読みは「ギョ」ですが、訓読みは「うお」「お」「さかな」などいくつかあります。
下記に「うお」と「さかな」についてまとめました。
◎「うお」
・記紀万葉(古事記、日本書記、万葉集)の頃から魚類の総称として使われていた。
・もともとは「いお」と発音されていた。
・古い言葉では「紆鳴」(ウヲ)「宇乎」(ウヲ)などと書かれた。
・西日本では今でも「うお」という呼び方が比較的多く残っている。
◎「さかな」
・奈良時代からある言葉。
・さかなの原義は、酒を飲むときに添えられる食べ物。酒のさかな(肴)
⇒「さか(酒)+な(副菜)」。副菜に魚を添えることが多かった。
・魚の意味になったのは江戸時代以降で、関東ではこちらの呼び方が一般的である。
◎「ぎょ」
・中国由来の漢字による音読み
◎その他
・「魚(うお)の水を得たるごとし」「水を得た魚(うお)のよう」
・「水魚(ぎょ)の交わり」
・人名の例として、平安時代初期の密教僧である空海の幼名は佐伯真魚(さえきのまお)。
〈参考文献〉
▶日本国語大辞典
NLP共同創始者ジョン・グリンダー博士認定校
ニューコードNLPスクール
記事更新日:2023/08/22