金魚

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 金魚 is a noun read きんぎょ, meaning a goldfish kept as an ornamental freshwater fish.
• Basic usage: It can refer to a goldfish swimming in a garden pond or one received at a festival and given a name.
  • 庭の池で赤い金魚が泳いでいる。 says that a red goldfish is swimming in the garden pond; 妹は祭りでもらった金魚に名前を付けた。 says that the younger sister named the goldfish she received at the festival.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 池で泳ぐ
  • で marks the garden pond as the place where the red goldfish is swimming.
• 金魚に名前を付ける
  • に marks the festival goldfish as the recipient of the name.
• 金魚 and 鯉
  • 金魚 is a goldfish commonly kept in a tank or pond, while 鯉 is a carp that generally grows larger.