食肉(しょくにく)

食(しょく) (eating, food) + 肉(にく) (meat, flesh). A formal or industry term for meat as a food product. Used more in official, commercial, or regulatory contexts than in everyday cooking talk.

Common collocations

• 食肉(しょくにく)加工(かこう): meat processing
• 食肉(しょくにく)市場(しじょう): meat market (wholesale)
• 食肉(しょくにく)検査(けんさ): meat inspection
• 食肉(しょくにく)業界(ぎょうかい): meat industry
• 食肉(しょくにく)店(てん): butcher shop

Similar words

• 肉(にく): meat — the everyday word used in cooking and daily life
• 精肉(せいにく): dressed meat — meat that has been trimmed and prepared for retail sale
• 鮮肉(せんにく): fresh meat — emphasizes freshness

Usage

In daily conversation, people say 肉(にく) rather than 食肉(しょくにく). 食肉(しょくにく) appears in news articles about food safety, industry reports, and official regulations. The compound also appears in 食肉(しょくにく)目(もく) (Carnivora, the order of carnivorous mammals), though this is a biological classification term.