ツナ(かん)

つなかん
noun
canned tuna
1. canned tuna
Tuna preserved in a can, a staple pantry item in Japanese households. Used in a wide variety of dishes from salads and rice balls to pasta and sandwiches.
ツナ(かん)でサラダを(つく)った。
I made a salad with canned tuna.
ツナ(かん)はおにぎりの()として人気(にんき)がある。
Canned tuna is popular as a rice ball filling.
非常食(ひじょうしょく)として(いえ)にツナ(かん)何個(なんこ)常備(じょうび)している。
I always keep several cans of tuna at home as emergency food.

One of the most common canned foods in Japan. The word combines the loanword ツナ (tuna, from English) with (かん) (can). Japan is one of the world's largest consumers of canned tuna, and it appears in an enormous range of everyday dishes.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • ツナ(かん)()ける: to open a can of tuna
  • ツナ(かん)(あぶら)()る: to drain the oil from canned tuna
  • ノンオイルのツナ(かん): oil-free canned tuna
  • ツナマヨ: tuna mayo (abbreviation of ツナマヨネーズ)

USAGE:
In Japan, the brand name シーチキン (Sea Chicken) by Hagoromo Foods is so widely known that many people use it interchangeably with ツナ(かん), similar to how "Band-Aid" is used for adhesive bandages in English.

RELATED WORDS:

  • 缶詰(かんづめ): canned food (general term)
  • 鮭缶(さけかん): canned salmon