Japanese Kitchen Terms in English: A Glossary

This is a glossary of Japanese kitchen terms in English, with romanised readings, spoken forms and an allergen-mapping table anchored to the US, UK/EU, Canadian and Australian allergen lists. Use it to standardise the words a chef from Japan and a local cook both use in training notes, job ads and spoken instructions. It covers general kitchen vocabulary only; sushi, fish and filleting terms are a separate glossary, linked below, so the two do not repeat each other.

1. How to use these tables

• Decide which words stay Japanese and which become English. Words understood in English, such as dashi, miso, mirin and sake, can stay in romaji, with a short explanation the first time they appear.
• Pick one version for your kitchen and use it consistently in the manual and in spoken instructions. The English in the tables is an example, not an official translation.
• Print a table per station and laminate it. A cutting station gets the knife and cuts table; the pass gets the service table. A wall reference beats a manual nobody reopens.

2. Saying it out loud: romanisation and spoken forms

The failure this glossary exists to fix is spoken, not written: a chef gives an instruction fast, in a kitchen accent, and a local cook without Japanese hears noise. Three habits fix most of it:

• Use Hepburn romanisation and match long vowels to your menu (shoyu or shōyu); consistency matters more than which system you pick.
• Break long words into syllables the first time you teach them: ka-tsu-ra-mu-ki, not one blur of sound. Japanese culinary words are mostly even-stressed, so there is no strong beat to listen for the way there is in English.
• Teach the spoken instruction, not just the noun. A chef does not say "nikiri"; they say "nikiri o hiitoite" (reduce some nikiri). Write down the verb forms a term actually appears in, not only its dictionary form, and post them next to the noun.

3. Kitchen roles and stations

4. Cooking methods

5. Knives and cuts

Filleting terms (sanmai oroshi, saku-dori and so on) are in the sushi and fish terms list, not repeated here.

6. Dashi and seasonings

7. Prep, menu courses and service

Kaiseki menu structures vary by restaurant. Cut or add rows to match your own service.

8. Allergen mapping across four jurisdictions

Japanese ingredients hide allergens guests and staff will not spot, and the legal list differs by country. Anchor your chart to the regime you operate under, not a generic list:

Common Japanese ingredients map to these categories as follows. Always check the ingredient list of the actual product you use; a house-made sauce can vary batch to batch.

Manage allergens as part of your hygiene manual to reduce mistakes; see writing a kitchen training manual for local staff.

9. A to Z index across both glossaries

This glossary and sushi and fish terms in English split one vocabulary in two. Use this index to find which page holds a term before you search both.

On this page: 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.

On the sushi and fish 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 and the raw-fish freezing rules.

General information. The English terms are examples, not official translations. Allergen labelling obligations differ by country and region and are revised over time. Check the current rules where your restaurant operates and the ingredient list of each product you use.