tonkatsu

T1O1N1K5A1T1S1U1
UK/tɒŋˈkatsuː/US/tɑŋˈkætsu/

noun

A popular Japanese dish consisting of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet served in bite-sized pieces and often accompanied by shredded cabbage and miso soup.

Scrabble 12

Meanings

nountonkatsu (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA popular Japanese dish consisting of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet served in bite-sized pieces and often accompanied by shredded cabbage and miso soup.

Origin

  1. Japanese豚カツ“pork cutlet”
  2. Englishtonkatsu

Borrowed from Japanese 豚カツ (tonkatsu, “pork cutlet”), from 豚 (ton, “pork”) + カツ (katsu, “cutlet”), shortened from カツレツ (katsuretsu).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Cantonese 日式炸豬扒 /日式炸猪扒, 吉列豬扒 /吉列猪扒
  • 日式炸豬扒 /日式炸猪扒 (jat⁵ sik¹ zaa³ zyu¹ paa²)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
  • 吉列豬扒 /吉列猪扒 (gat¹ lit⁶ zyu¹ paa²)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
Chinese Mandarin 日式炸豬排 /日式炸猪排, 吉列豬排 /吉列猪排
  • 日式炸豬排 /日式炸猪排 (rìshì zhàzhūpái)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
  • 吉列豬排 /吉列猪排 (jíliè zhūpái)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
Finnish tonkatsu
  • tonkatsuJapanese dish made from pork cutlet
German Tonkatsu, Tonkatsu
  • TonkatsuJapanese dish made from pork cutlet
  • TonkatsuJapanese dish made from pork cutlet
Greek τονκάτσου
  • τονκάτσου (tonkátsou)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
Italian tonkatsu
  • tonkatsuJapanese dish made from pork cutlet
Japanese 豚カツ, とんかつ
  • 豚カツ (tonkatsu)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
  • とんかつ (tonkatsu)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
  • トンカツ (tonkatsu)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
Korean 돈가스, 돈까스
  • 돈가스 (don'gaseu)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
  • 돈까스 (donkkaseu)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
Persian تونکاتسو
  • تونکاتسو (tonkâtsu)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
Russian тонка́цу
  • тонка́цу (tonkácu)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
Thai ทงคัตสึ
  • ทงคัตสึJapanese dish made from pork cutlet
Turkish tonkatsu
  • tonkatsuJapanese dish made from pork cutlet
Ukrainian тонка́цу
  • тонка́цу (tonkácu)Japanese dish made from pork cutlet
Cite this entry
APA

tonkatsu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonkatsu

MLA

“tonkatsu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonkatsu. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tonkatsu,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonkatsu.

Source: tonkatsu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.