Koi Terminlogy


Ai / Blue
Aka / Red
Akami / Red eye in iris
Amime / Net pattern of an asagi or kage
Aoji / Sumi deep, in utsuri line, that gives blue to white field
Aragoke / Armored scales
Ato sumi / Late sumi
Beni / Red
Beta gin / Whole scale gin
Boke sumi / Blurred sumi like kage
Bongiri / No pattern in tail region
Bozu / Bare head
Bu / Size
Chobo sumi / Black we see early on head, skull
Daiya / Diamond gin rin
Dan / Kohaku step of color i.e. nidan, sandan etc.
Danmoyo / Stepped pattern
Doitsu / Koi with scales along the dorsal and lateral lines only
Doroike / Mud pond
Fukurin / skin around the scale giving a scaloped affect
Funa Sumi / Underlying sumi
Gin / Silver
Gin me / White eye rim
Gin-rin / Silver Shinny scales
Goma sumi / Speckled sumi
Gosai / Koi in its fifth year
Gosanke / The group of koi that include Kohaku, Sanke and Showa
Goshiki / Five colored koi
Hachi / head
Hachiware / Divided head, line that divides, also menware
Hada / Skin
Hageshiro / Black koi, white on pectorals and head
Hajiro / Black koi, white pectorals and belly
Hakamahaki / Heavy rear pattern, opposite of bongiri
Hanatsuki / Red down to nose
Hanzome / Only part of scale covered in hi
Harabote / Fat stomach
Hariwake / Like a patchwork
Hashiri sumi / Stripes on showa fins instead of motoguro
Hi / Red
Hiban / Largest hi
Hikarimono / Metallic varieties
Hikarimoyo / Patterned metallic
Hikarimuji / One color metallic
Hitomoji sumi / Y formed on head of utsuri or showa
Hoo-Aka / Hi on cheek
Hoshi / Star development of red
Ichimai sashi / Sashi where the blurring extends a single scale
Ichimatsu / Checkerboard pattern
Ikeage / Harvest
Inazuma / Lightning pattern
Ippin / One of a kind koi
Ippon / One step pattern
Ipponhi / All hi on trunk above lateral
Iroage / Coloring and finishing of koi
Jihada / Skin texture
Jikasen / Koi bred by that breeder, himself
Jitai / A reference to the white ground color or shiro skin or shiroji
Joppa / High class
Jyami zumi / Sesame or goma
Kagamigoi / Doitsu with some scales
Kage / Shadow
Kage sumi / Shadowy sumi
Kaku sumi / Square sumi like on Jinbei or Torazo
Kamisori kiwa / Color edge on half scale, straight edge
Kanoko / Dappled
Kasane sumi / Sumi on red not as stable
Kata moyo / Pattern to side
Kata zumi / Shoulder sumi of sanke to one side /
Keito / traits of a particular breeders koi
Ki / Yellow
Kikei / Deformed
Kin / Gold
Kindai / Modern As in Kindai showa
Kin-rin / Gold scales
Kirekomi / Shiro that cuts into red pattern from the bottom
Kiwa / Back edge of pattern
Kohaku / Red and white koi
Koi / Carp
Kokesuki / Orange scale in hi field
Koke nami / Arrangement of doitsu scales around dorsal(rack)
Kokkaku / Bone structure
Kokugyo / Best in size
Komoyo / Small pattern
Kuchibeni / Lipstick
Kuchi sumi / Sumi on mouth
Kujaku / Peacock
Kumonryu / Dragon
Kuro goshiki / Dark ground Goshiki
Kuroko / 1st culling
Kuro me / Black rimmed eyes
Kutsubera / Horseshoe pattern on head
Kyori / Jumbo
Mado / Window
Madoaki / Window in hi plate
Maki / Wrap of pattern below lateral line, as in showa and utsuri
Makiagari / Wrap of black on pattern underneath
Makisagari / Wrap of red on pattern underneath,?maki
Mameshibori / Light ground goshiki
Maruten / Separate hi on head
Marazome / Scalloped edge kiwa
Matsuba / Pine cone
Matsukawabake / Black and white koi which changes colors, a scaled
Mekazura / Rim of eye. Prefer no hi, blue on sanke, black showa
Mena and kana / Female and male
Menasa / Pattern back on head, not kutsubera
Menkaburi / All red head (hood)
Menware / Dividng line on head of utsuri lineage
Mesu / Female
Motoaka / Hi at base of pectorals
Motoguro / Black at base of pectorals
Moyo / Pattern
Mudagoke / Waste scale outside main on doitsu
Muji / Solid color
Nabe sumi / Poor sumi
Nagaremoyo / Streaming pattern
Narumi asagi / Light asagi
Niban hi / Secondary hi that comes up later
Nidan / Two step pattern
Nimai sashi / Two / Scale sashi
Nishikigoi / Koi!
Nisai / Koi in its second years
Odome / White area after last color before tail
Ogon / Metallic single colored koi
Ojime / Distance between the last dan and the tail
Omoyo / Large pattern
Osu / Male
Otomo / Companion for shipping or tank
Oyabone / Lead ray of major fins, white prefered
Oyagoi / Parents used for breeding
Pongoi / Good grade koi
Purachina / Platinum
Sandan / Three step pattern
Sanmai sashi / Three scale sashi
Sansai / Koi in its third year
Sashi / Leading edge of pattern
Sashikomi or sashi sumi / Sumi sashi or sumi insertion
Sashi sumi / Leading edge of sumi pattern
Selgyo / Adult koi
Shimi / Black speckles on hi
Shiro / White
Shiro muji / All white Koi refers to a Koi which has lost its color
Shiroji / White ground
Sokusen / Lateral line
Soragoi / Blue-gray koi
Sougyo / Mature koi
Tsubo / Well placed Sumi/on white ground
Sumi / Black
Sumi ojime / Pattern stops in the tail tube
Tabisi / Journey
Taiko / Height of koi
Takai / Expensive koi
Tancho / All white koi with red circle (normally) on head
Taragoi / Would be perfect apart from one thing!
Tarai / Blue bowl
Tasukigake / Diagonal cross of pattern across back
Tate hi / Hi above lateral line parallel to dorsal
Tategoi / A Koi which will get better as it grows, a keep koi
Tateshita / A Koi which is not considered as Tategoi anymore
Teaka / Red on pectoral
Tedi / Gloss on doitsu koi
Tegima / Sumi stripes in fins
Tejima / Stripes on pectoral
Teri / Gloss to skin
Tesumi / Black in pectorals
Tobi hi / Hi alone or one or two scale hi spot
Tome Sumi / Last sumi before tail
Tosai / In its first year
Tsubo sumi / Ideal placement of sumi preferably on the white areas
Tsuya / Gloss to skin
Urushi sumi / Best sumi
Wagoi / Scaled koi
Wakagoi / Young
Yogyo / Baby koi
Yondan / Four step pattern
Yonsai / Koi in its forth year
Zappa / Low class