目玉焼(めだまや)き

めだまやき
noun
fried egg (sunny-side up)
food
1. fried egg; sunny-side up egg
An egg fried in a pan without flipping, so the yolk remains visible on top. The name literally means 'eyeball fry' because the round yolk resembles an eye.
朝(あさ)ごはんに目玉焼(めだまや)きを作(つく)った。
I made a fried egg for breakfast.
目玉焼(めだまや)きには醤油(しょうゆ)をかける派(は)ですか。
Are you the type to put soy sauce on your fried egg?
半熟(はんじゅく)の目玉焼(めだまや)きを乗(の)せたハンバーグが人気(にんき)メニューだ。
A hamburger steak topped with a soft-fried egg is a popular menu item.

A staple of Japanese home cooking and cafe menus. The name comes from 目玉(めだま) (eyeball) + 焼(や)き (fried), describing the appearance of the round yolk.

Common collocations

  • 目玉焼(めだまや)きを焼(や)く (to fry an egg)
  • 半熟(はんじゅく)の目玉焼(めだまや)き (soft-fried egg with runny yolk)
  • 目玉焼(めだまや)き丼(どん) (fried egg rice bowl)

Cultural note

What to put on a 目玉焼(めだまや)き is a common topic of friendly debate in Japan. Some prefer 醤油(しょうゆ) (soy sauce), others 塩(しお) (salt), ソース (Worcestershire sauce), or ケチャップ (ketchup).

Related Words

Related: 卵(たまご) (egg)
Related: オムレツ (omelette)
Related: 生卵(なまたまご) (raw egg)
Compare: スクランブルエッグ (scrambled eggs)
general
Added 2026.3.4 16:24 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
14500/14946_medamayaki