チキン

ちきん
noun
chicken (as food); coward (slang)
foodpersonality
1. chicken (meat, dish)
Chicken as a food or ingredient. In Japanese, チキン refers specifically to chicken as prepared food or a menu item, not to the live animal (which is 鶏(にわとり)).
チキンカレーを注文(ちゅうもん)した。
I ordered chicken curry.
フライドチキンが大好(だいす)きだ。
I love fried chicken.
クリスマスにはチキンを焼(や)いて家族(かぞく)で食(た)べるのが日本(にほん)の習慣(しゅうかん)だ。
It's a Japanese custom to roast chicken and eat it with family at Christmas.
2. coward; chicken (slang)
Slang for a timid or cowardly person, as in English "chicken". Informal and mildly insulting.
彼(かれ)はチキンだ。
He's a chicken.
チキンだから告白(こくはく)できない。
I'm too chicken to tell her how I feel.
高(たか)いところが怖(こわ)くてジェットコースターに乗(の)れないなんて、本当(ほんとう)にチキンだな。
Too scared of heights to ride a roller coaster? You really are chicken.

Usage

Sense 2 is informal slang (チキン野郎(やろう), coward); the rest of this note is about sense 1.

チキン is used for chicken as food, especially in loanword compound dishes: フライドチキン (fried chicken), チキンナゲット (chicken nuggets), チキンカレー (chicken curry). For the live bird, 鶏(にわとり) is used. For chicken meat in more traditional Japanese cooking contexts, 鶏肉(とりにく) is preferred.

Cultural note

Eating チキン at Christmas is a well-known Japanese custom, largely popularized by a KFC marketing campaign in the 1970s.

Common collocations

  • フライドチキン: fried chicken
  • チキンカレー: chicken curry
  • チキンナゲット: chicken nuggets
  • 照(て)り焼(や)きチキン: teriyaki chicken

Related Words

Compare: 鶏肉(とりにく) (chicken (meat))
general
Added 2026.2.13 5:10 · Revised 2026.10.13 9:46
11000/11029_chikin