鉄砲魚

Japanese

Kanji in this term
鉄	砲	魚
てつ > てっ Grade: 3	ほう > ぽう Grade: S	うお Grade: 2
kan'on		kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
鐵砲魚 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Literally, “gun fish”, compound of 鉄砲(てっぽう) (teppō, “gun”) + 魚(うお) (uo, “fish”)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) てっぽーうお [tèppóꜜòùò] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [te̞p̚po̞ːɯ̟o̞]

Noun

鉄(てっ)砲(ぽう)魚(うお) or 鉄砲魚(テッポウウオ) • (teppōuo) 

1. archerfish, specifically banded archerfish

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).