鯛

sea bream (esp. Pagrus major); porgy

rice with minced sea bream (tai)

traditional sea bream-shaped toy car

Food, cooking

tai chazuke; sea bream and tea over rice

Proverb

better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion

Proverb

good food requires good company; eaten alone, even sea bream does not taste well

Food, cooking

fish-shaped pancake filled with bean jam

Japanese parrotfish (Calotomus japonicus)

black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegeli)

red sea bream (Pagrus major); Japanese sea bream; red tai; porgy

Proverb

a diamond on a dunghill is still a diamond; quality is quality; an old eagle is better than a young crow; even if it's rotten, it's still sea bream

tripletail (Lobotes surinamensis)

Word usually written using kana alone

Asian sheepshead wrasse (Semicossyphus reticulatus)

scarbreast tuskfin (Choerodon azurio)

splendid alfonsino (Beryx splendens)

striped beakfish (Oplegnathus fasciatus)

crimson sea bream (Evynnis japonica)

tilefish (Branchiostegus spp.); blanquillo; horse-head fish

Idiomatic expression

to throw in a shrimp and pull out a whale; to use a sprat to catch a mackerel; to get big returns on a small investment

Scarus ovifrons (species of parrotfish)

cherry anthias (Sacura margaritacea)

neon damselfish (Pomacentrus coelestis); heavenly damselfish

scalpel sawtail (Prionurus scalprum)

emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator)

yellowback sea bream (Dentex tumifrons)