Translation guide
In Japanese, the word for flour depends on the type. The most common is wheat flour (komugiko), but rice flour, potato starch, and others are used in cooking. This guide covers the main types and how to refer to them naturally.
The general term for flour made from wheat, used in baking, thickening, etc.
The standard word for wheat flour. It covers all-purpose, bread, and cake flours unless specified.
小麦粉をふるいにかける。
Sift the flour.
このケーキには小麦粉が200グラム必要です。
This cake requires 200 grams of flour.
Cake flour or soft flour, low in gluten. Used for cakes, tempura, and delicate pastries.
薄力粉で天ぷらを作るとサクサクになります。
Using cake flour makes tempura crispy.
Bread flour or strong flour, high in gluten. Used for bread, pizza dough, and udon noodles.
パンを作るには強力粉が必要です。
You need bread flour to make bread.
All-purpose flour, medium gluten. Less common in Japan; often a mix of bread and cake flours.
中力粉はうどんに使われることがあります。
All-purpose flour is sometimes used for udon.
Flour made from ground rice, used in Japanese sweets and gluten-free cooking.
General rice flour. Increasingly popular for gluten-free baking.
米粉のパンケーキはもちもちしています。
Rice flour pancakes are chewy.
A type of rice flour made from non-glutinous rice, used in traditional sweets like dango.
Glutinous rice flour used for shiratama dango and mochi-like desserts.
A common thickener in Japanese cooking, often translated as 'potato starch' but sometimes called flour.
Potato starch, used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Not a flour but often grouped with flours in cooking.
片栗粉でとろみをつけます。
Thicken with potato starch.
Flours from other grains or starches.
Buckwheat flour, used for soba noodles and galettes.
そば粉でそばを打つ。
Make soba noodles from buckwheat flour.
The English words 'flour' and 'flower' are homophones, but in Japanese they are completely different: 小麦粉 (komugiko) for flour and 花 (hana) for flower. Be careful not to mix them up in translation.
In Japanese recipes, the type of flour is often specified (薄力粉, 強力粉, etc.). If you just say 小麦粉, it may be ambiguous. When following a recipe, check the exact type needed.
上新粉で団子を作ります。
Make dango with joshinko.
白玉粉は水を加えてこねます。
Knead shiratamako with water.
Corn flour (not cornstarch). Used in some baked goods.
コーンフラワーを使ってパンを焼きました。
I baked bread using corn flour.
Whole wheat flour, literally 'whole grain powder'.
全粒粉は食物繊維が豊富です。
Whole wheat flour is rich in dietary fiber.