Translation guide
The English word 'grease' can refer to cooking fat, mechanical lubricant, or oily dirt. Japanese uses different words depending on the type and context.
Grease from cooking, especially rendered animal fat or oily residue from food.
General word for fat or grease from animals or food. Can also mean oil, but context distinguishes it.
There's grease left in the frying pan.
This meat has a lot of grease/fat.
More commonly 'oil', but can refer to liquid grease or cooking oil. Use 脂 for solid or animal fat.
Throw away the oil/grease after frying tempura.
Specifically lard (rendered pork fat). Used in cooking contexts.
It's fragrant when stir-fried in lard.
Thick lubricating substance for machinery, bearings, etc.
Loanword from English, specifically for mechanical grease. Widely understood.
Apply grease to the bearings.
Lubricating oil; more formal/technical. Can refer to oil rather than thick grease.
Alternate spelling of グリース, less common.
Grease as a dirty, sticky substance on surfaces, hands, or clothes.
Grease used for styling hair, like pomade.
Pomade; the standard term for hair grease.
He puts grease/pomade in his hair.
Literal 'hair grease', less common than ポマード.
Style hair with hair grease.
To grease someone's palm; to bribe.
脂 (あぶら) typically refers to animal fat or solid grease from food. 油 (あぶら) is more general 'oil', including liquid cooking oil. グリース is specifically mechanical grease. For dirty grease stains, 油汚れ is safest.
グリース is only for mechanical lubricant. Using it for cooking fat sounds unnatural. Use 脂 or 油 instead.
機械に潤滑油を差す。
Apply lubricating oil to the machine.
Please apply grease.
My hands got greasy.
He greased some palms to get the contract.