How do you say "meat skewer" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "meat skewer" is 串カツ (kushikatsu). It is a noun pronounced "koo-shee-kah-tsoo".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of meat skewer from Noun Town

Pronunciation

串カツ is written in kanji and katakana. Romanised as kushikatsu, it sounds roughly like "koo-shee-kah-tsoo" to an English ear.

Example sentence

このお店の串カツはとてもおいしいです。

Kono omise no Kushikatsu wa totemo oishii desu.

The meat skewer at this shop is very delicious.

Usage notes

Kushikatsu (串カツ) is the Japanese word for meat skewer. Food vocabulary is among the most practical for daily life in Japan and is used constantly in markets, restaurants, and home cooking.

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Questions about 串カツ

How do you pronounce 串カツ?

串カツ is romanised as kushikatsu. Say it roughly like "koo-shee-kah-tsoo" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 串カツ formal or casual?

串カツ is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 串カツ written in Japanese?

串カツ is written using kanji and katakana. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.