Sushi and Fish Terms in English, With FDA Market Names

The chef calls it hamachi, the supplier's invoice says yellowtail, the menu says Hamachi, and often none of them are the same species. Fix this once, in writing: pick one Japanese-to-English name per fish and use it identically on the invoice, the menu and the allergen chart. This page gives the FDA market name and scientific name for the fish you are most likely to buy, raw fish freezing rules for the US, UK and EU, and honest gaps where we could not confirm a national rule elsewhere.

1. The "yellowtail" and "kanpachi" naming trap, first

This is the error most likely to cause a real menu problem, so it comes before the glossary. US sushi restaurants often call hamachi "yellowtail", but in the FDA Seafood List, buri (Seriola quinqueradiata, what most people mean by hamachi) has the market name "Amberjack" and common name "Buri"; the species whose FDA common name actually is "Yellowtail" is hiramasa (Seriola lalandi), a different fish. Kanpachi works the same way: Japanese kanpachi (Seriola dumerili) is also "Amberjack", while the market name "Kanpachi (Ocean-Farmed)" is reserved for a different species, Seriola rivoliana (Almaco Jack).

The operating rule this implies: pick one name per fish and use it identically in three places.

Which name goes on the menu is your decision, but confirm by scientific name at the buying stage which species you actually get; a chef from Japan may have picked up English fish names by assumption. Checking this table against your suppliers' lists is a first job when a new chef arrives.

2. Sushi and counter terms

3. Filleting and slicing

4. Fish and seafood names: Japanese, scientific and US market names

"FDA market name" is the Acceptable Market Name that the FDA's Seafood List gives for labelling the species in interstate commerce; "FDA common name" is the Common Name in the same list. Scientific names are the usual equivalents; where a Japanese name covers several species, we give the representative one. Use this to make fish names match across supplier invoices, the menu and your allergen chart; a species not listed here can be looked up by scientific name in the Seafood List directly.

5. Raw fish safety: freezing rules by market

We verified binding freezing rules for the US, UK and EU. For Australia, Singapore and Canada we could not confirm a single national binding rule equivalent to these this round; check your own state, provincial or national food authority before relying on a figure for those markets.

United States: FDA Food Code 2026

• Parasite destruction: fish served raw or undercooked must be frozen and stored at -20°C (-4°F) or below for at least 168 hours (7 days); frozen at -35°C (-31°F) or below until solid and stored at -35°C or below for at least 15 hours; or frozen at -35°C or below until solid and stored at -20°C or below for at least 24 hours.
• Exemptions: molluscan shellfish; scallop products consisting only of the shucked adductor muscle; tuna of the species Thunnus alalunga, T. albacares, T. atlanticus, T. maccoyii, T. obesus and T. thynnus; certain aquacultured fish raised on formulated feed containing no live parasites; and fish eggs removed from the skein and rinsed. Thunnus orientalis (Pacific bluefin) is not named in that list.
• Records: the restaurant records freezing temperature and time and keeps records for 90 days after service, or keeps the supplier's written statement in its place.
• Consumer advisory: menus or other written material must disclose raw or undercooked animal foods and carry a reminder about the risk.

United Kingdom and European Union

Regulation (EC) 853/2004, Annex III, Section VIII, Chapter III, D (retained in UK law and applied across the EU) requires fishery products eaten raw or almost raw to be frozen so all parts reach -20°C or below for at least 24 hours, or -35°C or below for at least 15 hours, killing parasites other than trematodes. Exempt: products going on to heat treatment (60°C core for one minute), fish already frozen long enough elsewhere, parasite-free approved wild grounds, and approved parasite-free farmed fish. Where sold on rather than straight to the consumer, the supplier documents which treatment was applied.

Australia, Singapore and Canada

We could not verify a single published, legally binding freezing figure for raw fish in these three markets this round. That does not mean no obligation exists: general food safety law still requires the business to control the parasite hazard. Confirm the current position with Food Standards Australia New Zealand or your state authority, the Singapore Food Agency, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or your provincial health authority, rather than assuming the US or EU figures transfer.

On the kitchen floor, it helps if the buyer and chefs share phrases such as "frozen for parasite destruction", "freezing log" and "supplier's letter of guarantee". How to write hygiene controls into a manual is covered in how to write a kitchen training manual for local staff, and hiring a buyer in hiring a sushi fish buyer. A full training programme built around these rules is in a sushi training programme for local staff.

6. A printable bilingual station card

One card both a Japanese chef and a local cook can read at the counter, covering the terms most likely to cause a mistake if guessed at rather than confirmed:

7. A to Z index across both glossaries

This page and Japanese kitchen terms in English split one vocabulary in two. Use this index to find which page holds a term before searching both.

On this page: aburi, agari, akami, chiai, chutoro, daimyo oroshi, gari, gomai oroshi, gunkan maki, harabone o suku, hikarimono, hira-zukuri, honenuki, hosomaki, ikejime, jukusei, kaku-zukuri, kawa-hiki, mizuarai, neta, nigiri, omakase, oshizushi, otoro, saku-dori, sanmai oroshi, shari, shinkei-jime, sogi-zukuri, temaki, tsukeba, tsume, usu-zukuri, zuke, plus every fish and seafood name above.

On the general kitchen glossary: aeru, ageba, ageru, amazu, araiba, awasezu, dandori, deba, hanaita, hangetsu giri, hari shoga, hassun, hon mirin, icho giri, itacho, kakushi bocho, kazari giri, ko no mono, kobujime, koikuchi shoyu, komezu, makanai, mentori, mizugashi, moritsuke, mukoita, mukozuke, nekaseru, niban dashi, nikata, nikiri, oimawashi, otoshi, ponzu, rangiri, ryoricho, sakizuke, sasagaki, sengiri, shiizakana, shikomi, shimofuri, shinagire, shiro miso, shitashori, shokuji, sujime, suage, takiawase, tamari, tateita, tenchi, tsukeru, usuba, wagiri, wakiita, wanmono, yakikata, yakimono, yaku, yanagiba, yubiki, yuderu.

General information, not food safety or labelling advice. The English terms are examples. Rules on naming fish and on serving raw fish differ by country, state and locality and are revised over time. Check the rules of the health authority where your restaurant operates and the latest official material.