Hebrew English Fish Chart

The bounty of fish indigenous to the Mediterranean, coupled with worldwide imports to Israel, gives those of us here an almost unprecedented number of choices for fish to cook. To help sort out which is which, I have compiled a list of fish that can be found in Israel.

It is a shame that fish cookery for most people comes down to salmon, tuna, and gefilte, with the occasional overbaked-in-oil tilapia (musht). The wide range of choices – fresh and frozen – available here can really broaden your repertoire and palette.

To add to the confusion. not all fish have the same names. My method for determining the correlation between Hebrew and English was to determine the scientific name of the species, then use several resources to determine the exact Hebrew name for that species, or, in case of conflicting information, I used a consensus.

With thousands of kosher fish species, the list is by no means comprehensive. If there is a particular fish you don’t see on the chart, please comment below and I will add it.

English Nameשם מקובלHebrew PronunciationPhoto
Alaskan PollockזהבנוןZahabnon
Albacore tunaטונה, טונה לבנהTuna, tuna levana
AnchovyאנשוביAnshoovi
Arrowtooth flounderשטצד פציפיShattzad Patzifi
BarramundiברמונדיBaramundi
Blue runnerתרחוןTarachon
BreamזהבוןZahabon
CodקודKod, ze’ev yam
Common carp, Mirror CarpקרפיוןKarpion
Common dolphin-fish, mahi-mahiרעמתןRa’amatan
Common grey mulletבוריBurri
Flounderדג סנדלDag Sandal
Frigate tuna (mackerel family)פלמודהPalmudah
Galilee St.Peter’s fish; Mango tilapiaמושט אביאדMusht, Amnon, Tilapia
Gilt head sea breamדניסDenis
Grass carpקרפיוןKarpion esev
Greater amberjackאינטיאסIntias
GrouperלוקוסLokus
Haddockחמור יםChamor Yam
Hakeמרלוזה, בקלהMarluza, Bakala
HalibutהליבוטPutit, halibut
HerringהרינגHerring
Jordan St. Peter’s fish; Blue tilapiaמושטMusht, Amnon, Tilapia
Kinneret bleak (carp)סרדין טבריהSardine Tiveria
Longhead barbel (carp)כרסיןKarsin
MackerelמקרלMackerel
Meagre (drum)עיט היםEit Hayam
Nile Perchנסיכה נילוסNisichah Nilus
Pink Dentex (Red Snapper)פארידהFaridah
PlaiceפלייסPlaice
PollackפולוקPolok
Red drumמוסרMusar
Round sardinellaדקהDaka
SalmonסלמוןSalmon
Sea BassלברקLevrak
Shad or WhitefishעלוזהAluzah
Shi drumלבטLevet
Silver carpכסיףKasif
Skipjack Tunaטונה, טונה בהירהTuna, tuna behirah
Spanish Mackerelפלמידה לבנהPalmidah Levanah
Striped BassבסBass
Striped Red MulletברבוניהBarbunia
Striped sea breamמרמירMormir
Trout; Rainbow TroutפורלForel
True Sole, Dover SoleסולSol
TurbotפוטיתPutit
Yellowstripe scadצנינית צהובת פסיםTzninit tzahubah pasim
Yellowtail amberjackאינטיאסAntias, Shula

Comments

comments

35 thoughts on “Hebrew English Fish Chart”

    1. Not only did I spend years looking at and learning the fish in the market, I spoke to fishmongers (who weren’t always right…) used several sites on the Internet in both English and Hebrew (and one in Italian), and referenced books on Mediterranean cuisine.

  1. What’s the “Chum Salmon” I see frozen in the supermarket? It’s lighter than the salmon I am used to from the US.

  2. In Alaska there are five kinds of salmon and they all have two names. From best to worst they are King also known as Chinook, the largest and best. Not far behind is Silver, a.k.a Coho, which is also very delicious. Red, aka Sockeye, is wonderful smoked but also good grilled or broiled. Pink, aka Humpy because of a pronounced hump, is pretty much only kept for canning. Most people don’t deliberately seek them out when fishing and many just throw them back when caught. Chum is also called dog because of its large teeth. They’re considered garbage fish and mostly used for bait. Are they really for sale in your stores? Zoiks!

  3. This is a great list. I will print it out when we make Aliyah. You should talk to Nefesh B’nefesh about incorporating this & your meat # list to new Olim. I am sure it woule be appreciated.

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