根魚

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
根	魚
ね Grade: 3	うお Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Compound of 根 (ne, “root”) +‎ 魚 (uo, “fish”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ね​うお [néꜜùò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ne̞ɯ̟ᵝo̞]

Noun

根(ね)魚(うお) • (neuo) ^{←ねうを (newo)?}

1. a non-migratory fish that lives among the roots of seaweed or coral
2. alternative for 鮎並 (ainame): a greenling (kind of fish)

Synonyms

• 根付(ねつ)き魚(うお) (netsukiuo)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
根	魚
ね Grade: 3	さかな > ざかな Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Compound of 根 (ne, “root”) +‎ 魚 (sakana, “fish”). The sakana changes to zakana as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ねざ​かな [nèzáꜜkànà] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [ne̞za̠ka̠na̠]

Noun

根(ね)魚(ざかな) • (nezakana) 

1. a non-migratory fish that lives among the roots of seaweed or coral

Usage notes

The neuo reading appears to be more common.