肉

• Reading: にく
• Romaji: niku
• Kanji breakdown: 肉 (niku) — meat, flesh
• Pronunciation: /ni.kɯ/

Meaning

Meat; flesh. A general term for all types of meat.

Covers all animal meat. Specific types include 牛肉 (beef), 豚肉 (pork), and 鶏肉 (chicken). In some regions, saying just 肉 defaults to a particular type — beef in Kansai, pork in Kantou. Historically, meat consumption was limited in Japan until the Meiji era.

Examples

1. スーパーで肉を買いました。 I bought meat at the supermarket.
2. お肉は好きですか。 Do you like meat?
3. 今日の料理は肉と野菜です。 Today's dish is meat and vegetables.

Usage Guide

Context: cooking, shopping, restaurants

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From Old Japanese. The kanji 肉 is a pictograph depicting a piece of meat or flesh, originally showing the form of sliced dried meat.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal