Translation guide
A communal dish where ingredients are cooked in a simmering pot of broth at the table. In Japanese, this is most commonly called 鍋 (nabe) or 鍋料理 (nabe ryōri). There are many regional and seasonal varieties.
Referring to the dish in general, or suggesting having hot pot.
The most common and casual word for hot pot. Can refer to the dish or the pot itself.
Naming a particular variety of hot pot.
A common style where various ingredients (seafood, meat, vegetables) are simmered together in a seasoned broth.
Referring to the physical pot used for hot pot.
Same word as the dish; context clarifies whether you mean the food or the pot.
In Japan, hot pot is often enjoyed as a group meal, with everyone cooking and eating from the same pot. It's common to say 「鍋を囲む」 (なべを かこむ) meaning 'to gather around a hot pot'.
おでん (oden) is a simmered dish with various ingredients in a soy-flavored broth, but it's usually kept warm and served from a large pot rather than cooked at the table. It's not typically called 'hot pot' in English, though it shares similarities.
今夜は鍋にしよう。
Let's have hot pot tonight.
冬は鍋が一番だね。
Hot pot is the best in winter, isn't it?
A slightly more formal term for hot pot dishes, literally 'pot cuisine'.
日本の鍋料理は種類が豊富です。
There is a wide variety of Japanese hot pot dishes.
Polite prefix added to 鍋, often used by women or in polite conversation.
今夜はお鍋にしませんか？
How about having hot pot tonight?
寄せ鍋には何を入れますか？
What do you put in yosenabe?
A well-known hot pot with thinly sliced beef, vegetables, and a sweet soy sauce-based broth. Often dipped in raw beaten egg.
すき焼きは牛肉を使います。
Sukiyaki uses beef.
Thinly sliced meat and vegetables swished in a mild kombu broth, then dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce.
しゃぶしゃぶはあっさりしていて美味しい。
Shabu-shabu is light and delicious.
Hearty hot pot famously eaten by sumo wrestlers, often with chicken, vegetables, and a rich broth.
ちゃんこ鍋は力士の食事として有名です。
Chanko nabe is famous as a sumo wrestler's meal.
Hot pot made with beef or pork offal, often in a soy or miso broth with garlic and chives.
もつ鍋は福岡の名物です。
Motsunabe is a specialty of Fukuoka.
Chicken hot pot with a simple water-based broth, often served with ponzu dipping sauce.
水炊きは鶏肉の旨味がスープに出ます。
In mizutaki, the chicken flavor comes out in the broth.
A Hokkaido specialty with salmon and vegetables in a miso-based broth.
石狩鍋は北海道の郷土料理です。
Ishikari nabe is a local dish of Hokkaido.
この鍋は土鍋ですか？
Is this pot an earthenware pot?
Earthenware pot, commonly used for hot pot because it retains heat well.
土鍋で作ると美味しくなります。
It tastes better when made in an earthenware pot.