尾(お)ひれ

おひれ
noun
tail fin; embellishments; exaggerations added to a story
animal-generalcommunication
1. tail fin; caudal fin
the fin at the tail end of a fish
マグロの尾(お)ひれは大(おお)きい。
The tail fin of a tuna is large.
魚(さかな)は尾(お)ひれで方向(ほうこう)を変(か)える。
Fish change direction with their tail fins.
尾(お)ひれの形(かたち)で魚(さかな)の種類(しゅるい)がわかることもある。
Sometimes you can tell the species of fish by the shape of its tail fin.
2. embellishments; exaggerations; additions to a story
extra details or exaggerations added when retelling a story, making it bigger than it actually was
尾(お)ひれをつけて話(はな)す人(ひと)だ。
He's a person who embellishes stories.
噂(うわさ)に尾(お)ひれがついて広(ひろ)まった。
The rumor spread with added embellishments.
小(ちい)さな失敗(しっぱい)に尾(お)ひれがついて、まるで大事件(だいじけん)のように伝(つた)わってしまった。
A small mistake got embellished and was passed around as if it were a major incident.

Composed of 尾(お) (tail) and ひれ (鰭(ひれ), fin). The literal meaning is a fish's tail fin, but the figurative use in the set phrase 尾(お)ひれをつける (to add embellishments) is extremely common. The image is of a fish story growing extra fins as it gets retold.

Common collocations

Similar words

Related Words

Compare: 誇張(こちょう) (exaggeration)
Compare: 脚色(きゃくしょく) (dramatization, embellishment)
Compare: 大(おお)げさ (exaggerated, overblown)
general
Added 2026.4.20 0:19 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
24500/24576_ohire