尾(お)びれ

おびれ
noun
tail fin; caudal fin
animal-fishcommunication
1. tail fin; caudal fin
The fin located at the tail end of a fish, used for propulsion and steering. Also called the caudal fin in scientific contexts.
マグロの尾(お)びれは大(おお)きい。
A tuna's tail fin is large.
尾(お)びれで水(みず)を叩(たた)いて泳(およ)ぐ。
It swims by beating the water with its tail fin.
金魚(きんぎょ)の尾(お)びれがひらひらと揺(ゆ)れている。
The goldfish's tail fin is swaying gently.
2. embellishment; exaggeration added to a story
Figuratively, extra details or exaggeration added when retelling a story or rumor, making it bigger or more dramatic than it actually was.

Written as 尾(お)びれ (also 尾鰭(おびれ) in kanji). The literal meaning (sense 1) refers to the tail fin of a fish. The figurative meaning (sense 2) comes from the idiom 尾(お)ひれがつく, which likens the growing embellishments on a story to a fish growing fins and a tail.

Common collocations

Fish fin types

  • 背(せ)びれ: dorsal fin (back fin)
  • 胸(むな)びれ: pectoral fin (chest fin)
  • 腹(はら)びれ: pelvic fin (belly fin)
  • 尻(しり)びれ: anal fin

Related Words

Related: 背(せ)びれ (dorsal fin)
general
Added 2026.4.20 21:17 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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