JLPT N5 Kanji – 魚 – gyo, sakana, uo

This is 5-Minute Kanji, and today, we’re going to the seashore — the kanji for fish.

Mnemonic:
One fisherman holds up a fish flipping around in a net. The other fisherman exclaims “I SAW ya CAUGHt NAthing!” The first one defends himself “O UU GYO fly a kite. I did too!”

Onyomi:

ギョ
gyo

Kunyomi:

さかな、うお
sakana, uo

魚 looks like a stylized fish — a head, a body with fins, and a tail. The everyday word you’ll use most is the kunyomi さかな (sakana) when you mean an actual fish you can buy, cook, or throw back into the water. The onyomi ギョ (gyo) appears in compounds and more technical words — especially those that group fish or talk about fisheries and seafood in general.

When you build your mnemonic, focus on the two main sounds: さかな / さか- (sakana, the casual everyday name) and ギョ (gyo) (the compact sound that shows up in compounds). The オウ reading is much less common.

Mnemonic Factory

Think of the kanji as the fish itself: a head at the top left, a body with a fin, and a tail flicking to the right. Imagine you’re at a busy morning fish market — someone cries, さかな！ — and a tray of wriggling fish makes the perfect 魚 shape in your mind.

Let’s play with English words that highlight the sounds:

For ギョ (gyo) (onyomi), try:

• GYOza — a quick, bite-sized word that starts with gyo (not related, but the sound helps)
• GYOgraphy (imagine “fish-ography”) — picture a whole map of fish species
• GYO- (prefix) — think “group of fish” — quick and compact

For さかな / うお (sakana / uo) (kunyomi), try:

• SAW-KA-NAight?— every Friday night is soccer night in this household!
• SOCK-AH-NA — imagine Anna wearing socks with little fish on them (silly but sticky)
• YOU-OH (uo) — old-fashioned fisherman’s “you-oh!” as a fish flips

Putting it together: The market vendor yells to his favorite customer SOCK AN-NA, a little girl with pigtails and large fluffy socks. “Here ya GYO!” as he hands her a fresh fish.

Example Words

Kunyomi (さかな / うお):

• 魚（さかな） “fish”
• 魚屋（さかなや） “fishmonger, fish shop”*
• 魚市場（うおいちば） “fish market”*

*Common, not strictly N5

Onyomi (ギョ):

• 魚介（ぎょかい） “seafood”*
• 魚類（ぎょるい） “fish species”*
• 魚群（ぎょぐん） “school/shoal of fish”*
• 金魚（きんぎょ） “goldfish”* (mix of onyomi/kunyomi usage)

*Not N5

Commonly Confused With

• 鳥 — “bird” (different animal but similar stroke-count territory that can trip learners up)
• 黒 — “black” (has the same radical on the bottom and a similar top but no hook on top)
• 思 — “think” (has the heart radical on the bottom and no hook on top)
• 鮭 — “salmon” (shares the fish radical; beginners sometimes mix up the full characters)
• 鯨 — “whale” (also contains the fish radical; more complex strokes)

Story Review

Can you remember the story? Shout it out loud:

One fisherman holds up a fish, flipping around in a net. The other fisherman exclaims, “I ___ ya _____t __thing!” The first one defends himself “_ __ ___ fly a kite. I did too!”

One more time:

One fisherman holds up a fish, flipping around in a net. The other fisherman exclaims, “I ___ ya _____t __thing!” The first one defends himself “_ __ ___ fly a kite. I did too!”

Word Review

Ready for a quick drill? Yell out the reading for each:

魚
魚屋*
魚市場*
金魚*
魚介*

*Not N5

That’s the kanji for fish! If you’ve got a sillier mnemonic (maybe a fish that says GYO-za when pan-fried), drop it in the comments — I love hearing clever ones. For more quick kanji like this, hit subscribe and ring the bell so you don’t miss the next 5-Minute Kanji. Tight lines and tasty sashimi, kanji crew!