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63+ Great Japanese Cooking Utensils Vocabulary

Lindsay Lalonde

By Lindsay Lalonde
Last updated December 14, 2023
Published on December 11, 2022

Table Of Contents

How are you going to cook without utensils?! It’s time to go shopping for kitchen supplies. But before you head out to the store, you’d better brush up on some Japanese cooking utensils vocabulary.

Below you’ll find lots of Japanese words related to kitchen utensils so you can adequately enjoy cooking food in your kitchen. Japan has all the standard kitchen tools you’ll need and some very interesting cultural kitchen utensils specific to cooking Japanese cuisine.

These are difficult to get outside of Japan, and it appears very few people have taken photos of these utensils. Still, we tried our best to find some images for you.

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The Japanese, of course, love to eat fish and sushi, but there is far more than that to cook and eat in Japan. What will you encounter during your time there? Your food journey will be full of surprises and new tastes!

The Japanese culture is heavily based on work, resulting in most people eating street food or out at restaurants. Some people find the time for a home-cooked meal during special celebrations.

Perhaps you want to impress someone with your cooking abilities.

Whether that’s the case or you enjoy cooking for yourself, it’s time to learn and get to know utensils in Japanese!

 

Types Of Food In Japan

Japanese Cooking Utensil Vocabulary

If you’re interested in cooking local Japanese food in your daily life, you should become familiar with the most popular dishes to prepare in Japan. 

It will help you to know what sorts of kitchen tools you’ll need to purchase, such as chopsticks, bowls, plates, knives, and other dishes you may need. Know that rice is a huge part of the cuisine, so you’ll want to pick up a high-quality rice cooker.

Name in EnglishJapanesePronunciation
Kaiseki懐石kai-sek-ee 懐石
Miso soupみそ汁mee-so-sheru みそ汁
Natto納豆na-toe 納豆
Odenおでんoo-den おでん
Okonomiyakiお好み焼きo-ko-nom-ee-yak-ee お好み焼き
Onigiriおにぎりo-nee-gear-ee おにぎり
Ramenラーメンraa-men ラーメン
Sashimi刺身sha-shi-mee 刺身
Shabu Shabuしゃぶしゃぶsha-boo-sha-boo しゃぶしゃぶ
Sobaそばso-ba そば
Sukiyakiすき焼き soo-kee-a-kee すき焼き
Sushi寿司tsu-shi 寿司
Takoyakiたこ焼きta-ko-ya-kee たこ焼き
Tempura天ぷらtem-purr-a 天ぷら
Tofu豆腐toe-foo 豆腐
Tonkatsuとんかつton-cat-sue とんかつ
Udonうどんoo-don うどん
Unagiうなぎoo-na-gee うなぎ
Wagashi和菓子wa-ga-shi 和菓子
Yakitori焼き鳥ya-key-tor-ee 焼き鳥

 

Unique Japanese Cooking Utensils Vocabulary

There are some very unique kitchen utensils particular to Japan. These are just a few that you may end up in your kitchen if you plan to cook Japanese food.

  • Donabe – 土鍋 (do-na-bay) 土鍋
Donabe
  • Egg mold – 卵型 (ta-ma-go-ga-ta) 卵型
Egg Mold
  • Fish roaster – フィッシュロースター (fish-hero-su-ta) フィッシュロースター
  • Fish scaler – フィッシュスケーラー (fish-ku-tera) フィッシュスケーラー
  • Gyoza press – 餃子プレス (gee-o-za-pre-es-oo) 餃子プレス
  • Omelet pan – オムレツパン (oo-mer-ette-span) オムレツパン
Japanese Cooking Utensil Vocabulary
  • Onigiri mold – おにぎり型 (oo-ni-gear-ee-gata) おにぎり型
Onigiri Mold
  • Pickling press – ピクルスプレス (pick-oo-roo-soo-poo-roo-soo) ピクルスプレス
  • Rice washer – ライスウォッシャー (rice-oo-osha) ライスウォッシャー
  • Sukiyaki pot – すき焼き鍋 (soo-key-ya-key-na-bay) すき焼き鍋
Sukiyaki Pot 
  • Takoyaki maker – たこやきメーカー (ta-koh-ya-key-meh-ka) たこやきメーカー
Japanese Cooking Utensil Vocabulary Takoyaki Maker

 

Western Japanese Cooking Utensils Vocabulary

Here is a listing of typical kitchen tools in Japanese.

Name in EnglishJapanesePronunciation
Bottle openerボトルオープナーbo-tor-o-oo-poo-na ボトルオープナー
Bowlボウルbo-ru ボウル
Butcherknife肉切り包丁nee-ku-kiri-bo-cho 肉切り包丁
Can opener缶切りkan-kiri 缶切り
Chopsticks箸ha-shi 箸
Colanderザルzar-oo ザル
Cutting boardまな板ma-nai-ta まな板
Dishes料理ree-ori 料理
Forkフォークfor-ku フォーク
Frying panフライパンfoo-rai-pan フライパン
Kitchen knife包丁hoe-joe 包丁
Lid蓋fu-ta 蓋
Measuring cup計量カップkerri-o-ka-pu 計量カップ
Measuring spoons計量スプーンkerri-o-spoon 計量スプーン
Peelerピーラーpee-ra ピーラー
Plate皿sa-ra 皿
Potポットpot-o ポット
Skewer串tsu-shi 串
Spatulaへらhera へら
Spoonスプーンspoon スプーン
Strainerストレーナーsto-rai-na ストレーナー
Whisk泡 立て 器ah-wah-decki 泡 立て 器
Wok中華鍋choo-ka-na-bay 中華鍋

 

Kitchen Appliances In Japanese

Japanese Kitchen Utensils
EnglishJapanesePronunciation
Dishwasher食器洗い機show-key-a-rai-key 食器洗い機
Microwave oven電子レンジden-gee-ren-gee 電子レンジ
Refrigerator冷蔵庫ray-zo-ko 冷蔵庫
Ovenオーブンoh-bun オーブン
Stoveストーブsto-boo ストーブ
Rice cooker炊飯 器zee-han-gee 炊飯 器
Kettleケトルke-tor-oo ケトル
Sinkシンクshink-oo シンク
Garbage canゴミ箱go-mee-ba-ko ゴミ箱

 

Phrases And Japanese Cooking Utensils Vocabulary To Use While Shopping

While shopping, you may need this Japanese vocabulary and words to ask for help in locating things in the store in your daily life in Japan.

You’ll notice that in each question, the thing you’re asking for is the first thing in the sentence, followed by the question. This is the opposite of English sentence structure.

EnglishJapanesePronunciation
Where can I find the kitchen tools?キッチンツールはどこにありますかkitchen-soo-roo-ah-dokoo-nee-ari-mas-ka? キッチンツールはどこにありますか
Where can I find a kitchen knife?包丁はどこにありますかho-cho-ah-dokoo-nee-ari-mas-ka? 包丁はどこにありますか
Where is a cutting board?まな板はどこにありますかma-nai-ta-ah-dokoo-nee-ari-mas-ka? まな板はどこにありますか
Where is a frying pan?フライパンはどこですかfoo-rai-pan-ah-dokoo-de-su-ka? フライパンはどこですか
Where is a pot?鍋はどこですかnabe-wa-dokoo-de-su-ka? 鍋はどこですか
Where can I find a whisk?泡立て器はどこにありますかah-wah-decki-ah-dokoo-nee-ari-mas-ka? 泡立て器はどこにありますか
Where can I find a rice cooker?炊飯 器はどこにありますかzee-han-gee-ah-dokoo-nee-ari-mas-ka? 炊飯 器はどこにありますか
Where are the bowls?ボウルはどこにありますかbo-ru-ah-dokoo-nee-ari-mas-ka? ボウルはどこにありますか
Where are the chopsticks?箸はどこにありますかha-shi-ah-dokoo-nee-ari-mas-ka? 箸はどこにありますか
Where are the dishes?お皿はどこですかo-sara-ah-dokoo-de-su-ka? お皿はどこですか

 

It’s Time To Cook And Learn!

Hopefully, this article will improve your Japanese vocabulary and help you understand how to ask for kitchen utensils and appliances when shopping.

We’d love to help you learn even more Japanese vocabulary, especially the pronunciation of this entertaining language to speak.

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