レバー

レ

バ

ー

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

Refers specifically to liver as an ingredient or dish, not the anatomical organ in a medical context. Common in cooking and menus.

from German Leber

レバーを焼やくto grill liver
焼やき鳥とり屋やでレバーを焼やいてもらった。
I had them grill some liver at the yakitori restaurant.
レバーが苦にが手てだto dislike liver (its taste or texture)
子こ供どもの頃ころからレバーが苦にが手てだ。
I've disliked liver ever since I was a kid.

肝きもN1
肝 is the native Japanese word for liver as food, especially chicken liver at yakitori restaurants, while レバー is the loanword typically used for pork or beef liver in Western-style cooking.
肝かん臓ぞうN1
レバー refers to liver as a food item (as in レバニラ), while 肝臓 is the formal, anatomical term for the organ itself.

肝かん臓ぞうN1
肝臓 is the clinical, anatomical term for the liver organ, while レバー refers to liver only as a food ingredient, so they are not interchangeable in a medical context.
フォアグラ
フォアグラ refers specifically to fattened duck or goose liver as a luxury delicacy, while レバー is the generic word for animal liver used in everyday cooking.
リバー
リバー and レバー are near-homophonic loanwords in Japanese; レバー is the standard, well-established word for both animal liver and a mechanical lever, while リバー is a much rarer variant that learners may mistake for it.

Loanword from German 'Leber', meaning liver. Adopted into Japanese primarily in culinary contexts.