Translation guide
Refers to the wing of a chicken, especially as food. In Japanese, the term can refer to the whole wing or specific parts, with different names for the drumette, flat, and tip.
To refer to chicken wings as a dish or ingredient, without specifying the part.
The most common term for chicken wings in Japanese cuisine. Technically refers to the wing tip (the part with little meat), but often used broadly for the whole wing in casual contexts, especially for fried chicken wings (tebasaki karaage).
I love fried chicken wings.
Literally 'chicken wing', a more general term that can refer to the whole wing. Used in cooking contexts.
Chicken wings are suitable for stewed dishes.
Short for 'chicken wing', commonly used in recipes and product names. Can be ambiguous without context, but usually understood as chicken wing.
Let's make grilled chicken wings.
To refer specifically to the wing tip, the part with little meat, often used for stocks or fried as a snack.
Strictly speaking, this is the wing tip. In many regions, especially Nagoya, 'tebasaki' refers to the whole wing prepared in a specific way, but anatomically it's the tip.
I use wing tips for soup stock.
To refer to the drumette, the part that looks like a small drumstick.
The drumette, the thickest part of the wing. Often used in stews, soups, or grilled.
I simmered the drumettes in a sweet and savory sauce.
To refer to the flat, the middle part of the wing.
The flat or wingette, the middle section with two parallel bones. Commonly used for frying or grilling.
The flat has two bones.
These terms refer to different parts of the chicken wing: 手羽先 (tebasaki) is the tip, 手羽中 (tebanaka) is the flat, and 手羽元 (tebamoto) is the drumette. However, in casual use, 手羽先 often refers to the whole wing, especially in the context of Nagoya-style fried chicken. When precision is needed, use the specific terms.