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鶏肉 (とりにく, toriniku) Japanese meaning: chicken meat | Kotomora

鶏とり肉にく

と

り

に

く

Common word›JLPTN5›Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

Specifically refers to the meat of a chicken. The most common meaning in everyday use.

今こん夜やは鶏とり肉にくのカレーを作つくります。

I will make chicken curry tonight.

鶏とり肉にくを一ひと口くち大だいに切きってください。

Please cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

2

bird meat; poultry; fowl

Only when written 鳥肉

Refers to the meat of birds in general, including chicken, duck, turkey, etc. Often written 鳥肉 to emphasize the broader category.

この料りょう理りには鳥とり肉にくなら何なんでも使つかえます。
You can use any kind of bird meat for this dish.
鳥とり肉にくは牛ぎゅう肉にくよりあっさりしている。
Bird meat is lighter than beef.

Usage patterns

鶏とり肉にくを焼やくto grill/cook chicken
フライパンで鶏とり肉にくを焼やいた。
I grilled chicken in a frying pan.
鶏とり肉にくを茹ゆでるto boil chicken
鶏とり肉にくを茹ゆでてサラダに入いれた。
I boiled the chicken and added it to the salad.
鶏とり肉にくを炒いためるto stir-fry chicken
野や菜さいと鶏とり肉にくを炒いためて夕ゆう食しょくにした。
I stir-fried vegetables and chicken for dinner.
鶏とり肉にくの唐から揚あげfried chicken (Japanese-style)
居い酒ざか屋やで鶏とり肉にくの唐から揚あげを注ちゅう文もんした。
I ordered Japanese-style fried chicken at the izakaya.

Kanji

鶏chicken
肉meat
鳥bird, chicken

Related words

鳥とりN5
鶏肉 specifically means chicken meat, while 鳥 is a broader term that can refer to the meat of any bird, though it usually implies chicken.
チキンN1
鶏肉 is the standard Japanese word for chicken meat, while チキン is a loanword typically used in Western-style or casual cooking contexts.
ブロイラー
鶏肉 is the general word for chicken meat, while ブロイラー specifically refers to the fast-growing breed raised for that meat.
鶏にわとりN3
鶏肉 explicitly means 'chicken meat' and is the standard word for the food, while 鶏 alone as a food term is more casual and context-dependent (e.g. on a menu).

Don't confuse with

牛ぎゅう肉にくN5sense 1
鶏肉 refers specifically to chicken meat, while 牛肉 refers to beef, so English learners sometimes mix up which meat each word points to.
豚ぶた肉にくN5sense 1
鶏肉 is chicken meat, whereas 豚肉 is pork; both end in 肉 and are easy to confuse when first learning meat vocabulary.

Written forms

鶏肉Usage91%
- とりにく
  Standard spelling for chicken meat. The reading けいにく is also possible but rare.
- けいにく
鳥肉Usage5%

Etymology

Compound of 鶏 (niwatori, 'chicken') or 鳥 (tori, 'bird') and 肉 (niku, 'meat'). The reading とりにく is the standard kun'yomi combination.

Usage for this spelling across all readings, not one reading alone.

とりにく
Used for bird meat in general, including poultry. Can also be read ちょうにく, but とりにく is more common.
ちょうにく

とり肉にくUsage5%

search-only kanji form

Kana-kanji mixed spelling, often used in everyday writing for clarity.

けいにく

ちょうにく