Aigoromo – a Goromo (koromo) koi with blue or indigo reticulation
Ai Showa – a showa koi with blue or indigo speckles
Aka – red
Akame – eye with a red iris
Akebi – light blue
Asaqui- “blue”, referring to a koi with a reticulated bluish body and red markings on the underside, which may also be present in the pectoral fins and cheeks
Ato sumi – late-developing black markings
Bekko- refers to a koi whose body has a single base color (white, red, or yellow) with black markings generally in the form of spots or speckles above the lateral line
Beni – orange-red
Boke – faded or blurred color, usually referring to black or sumi
Budo – a color that’s intermediate between aigoromo and sumigoromo
Bunka – a variation of the sanshoku or tricolor pattern
Cha – brown
Chagoi – a brown koi, known for its splendid growth
Doitsu- translates to ‘German,’ and refers to a koi that either: 1) has no visible scales; or 2) has mirror-like scales only on the dorsal and lateral lines
Enyu – a doitsu koi with a white body and red markings whose mirror scales are platinum; pale blue speckles may be interspersed within the red and white color of the dorsal surface
Etsu No Hisoku – a doitsu yellow-green koi
Fukurin - an area around the scales of a metallic koi that exhibits extra luster
Gin – silver metallic color
Ginrin- a koi with silver-colored sparkling scales
Goior Koi or Goi – wild carp
Goke – fish scale
Gosanke – a term that refers collectively to the 'big three' of koi keeping: Kohaku, Sanke, and Showa
Gotensakura – a Kohaku with much red patches
Hageshiro – an all-black koi (Karasu) whose head and snout are patched with white or brown
Hagoromo – a variety of aigoromo
Hajiro – an all-black koi (Karasu) whose tail and fins are edged with white
Hanako – translates to ‘flower maiden’, referring to a red koi
Hi – red, usually referring to a red patch or coloration on a koi
Hariwake – a metallic white koi with gold or yellowish markings
Hikari - metallic
Hikarimoyo- refers to a metallic koi with more than one color, with the exception of metallic showa and metallic utsuri (both of which are classified as Hikari Utsuri)
Hikarimuji- refers to a metallic koi of single color
Hikariutsuri- refers to a koi that's a metallic version of either the Showa or the Utsuri
Hisoku – yellow-green color
Inazuma – a zigzag pattern usually associated with Kohakus
Jiro – white
Kabuto – translates to ‘helmet’, referring to a koi whose head color is different from that of its body
Kagami – an old koi variety with mirror scales on both the dorsal and ventral sides
Kanako – a koi with a white body and red spots
Karasu – a totally black koi, often tinged with a blue haze
Kasane Sumi – a black marking on a red background; see also tsubo sumi
Kawa – a koi with no scales except for some reflective scales on the dorsal surface
Kawarimono – the old name for koi with undefined color or pattern
Kawarigoi- the new name for Kawarimono koi, covering all koi varieties that do not fall under established mainstream koi classifications
Ki – yellow
Kin – metallic gold
Kiwa – the edge of a patch or marking
Kinginrin- a koi with silver- or gold-colored sparkling scales
Kinrin- a koi with gold-colored sparkling scales
Kohaku– a koi with a white body and red markings
Komoyo – small zigzag pattern of red and white
Konjo – dark blue
Koromo– translates to 'robed', referring to a koi that has a white base color with red patterns overlaid with dark reticulation
Koshi – green
Kuchibeni – a red-lipped koi
Kujaku– translates to ‘peacock’, referring to a reticulated metallic koi with red, orange or golden markings.
Kumonryu- is the term applied to a doitsu koi with a 'killer whale' pattern, i.e., a black body with white markings
Kuro – black
Leather Koi – refers to a koi with no visible scalation, e.g., doitsu
Ma – wild
Maruten – a koi with a round red patch on the head in addition to other markings on the body
Matsuba – a pine-cone or reticulated pattern resulting in a ‘net effect’ at the back of a koi; usually caused by scales whose centers are colored differently from their edges
Menkaburi – masked, usually referring to a Kohaku with a completely red head
Menware – a lightning-shaped marking across the head of a koi, which is a desirable trait in a Showa or Utsuri
Meija – the era from 1868 to 1912
Midorigoi – a doitsu koi of greenish color
Moto aka – red pectoral joint
Motoguro – black coloration at the base of pectoral fins; a desirable trait in Showa and Utsuri
Moyo – with markings or patterns
Muji – translates to ‘nothing else’, usually used as a suffix to refer to a single-colored koi
Narumi – light blue
Nezu – gray or tarnished silver color
Nidan – refers to a two-stepped Kohaku, i.e., a koi with two red patches over its white body
Odome – tail stop
Ogon – refers to a single-colored metallic koi
Omoyo - refers to a single-stepped Kohaku, i.e., a koi with just a single patch over its white body
Orenji – orange
Purachina– refers to a platinum or very white metallic koi
Rin – scale
Sandan – refers to a three-stepped Kohaku, i.e., a koi with three red patches over its white body
Sanke – ‘three-colored’, referring to a koi with a white body and red and black markings; the black markings are generally in the form of spots above the lateral line
Sanshoku – a three-colored koi, referring to either the sanke or the showa
Sashi – mottled black, gray or blue coloration beneath a koi's skin, usually referring to undeveloped black markings; may also refer to the blurred line caused by white scales overlapping red ones of the hi
Shiro – white
Shiroji – white background
Shiku – colored
Shimi – undesired small black spots on the body of a koi
Showa- refers to a koi with a black body and red and white markings; the black markings are generally in the form of large streaks that wrap around the body
Shusui– a doitsu koi with light bluish dorsal color, red ventral colorations, and mirror scales
Sui – a ripple effect
Sumi – a black marking or patch
Taisho Era – the era covering 1912-1926
Taisho Sanshoku – same as a sanke koi
Tancho– refers to a Kohaku, Sanke, or Showa whose only red marking is a round patch of red on the head.
Tategoi - a koi with good potential to be a future champion
Tobi Hi – splattered red
Tosai – a young koi, i.e., a koi less than one year old
Tsubo Sumi – a black marking over a white background; see also kasane sumi
Utsuri– refers to a koi whose body has a single base color (white, red, or yellow) with black markings generally in the form of large streaks that wrap around the body
Yamabuki – pale yellow color; derived from the name of a yellow-petaled rose, Kerria japonica, from China
Yamabuki Ogon – a pale yellow single-colored metallic koi
Yamabuki Hariwake - a metallic koi with white body and light yellow markings
Yondan – a four-stepped Kohaku, i.e., a koi with four red patches on its white body
Yotsujiro – a black koi whose head, fins, and undersides are white
Yoroi – translates to ‘armored’, usually referring to a doitsu koi with excessive mirror scales