1.
oil (cooking, vegetable)
Liquid fat used for cooking, typically from plants.
油で揚げました。
I deep-fried it in oil.
油を引いてください。
Please add oil (to the pan).
油を売る。
To slack off. (lit: sell oil)
Idiomatic expression
2.
oil, petroleum
General term for oily substances, including machine oil.
機械に油をさす。
To oil a machine.
自転車のチェーンに油をさした。
I oiled the bicycle chain.
油が切れているので動きが悪い。
It's not moving well because it's out of oil.
油 refers to oil, primarily cooking oil.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 油で揚げる (deep-fry in oil)
- 油を引く (add oil to a pan)
- 油っこい (oily, greasy)
- 油を売る (idle away time - idiom)
KANJI NOTE:
- 油: oil (general, cooking)
- 脂: fat (from animals, body fat)
RELATED WORDS:
- サラダ油 (salad oil)
- ごま油 (sesame oil)
- オリーブオイル (olive oil)