Meaning & use
fugu
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Meanings
noununcountable
Pufferfish prepared as a Japanese delicacy, which is poisonous unless the toxic parts are removed by a trained chef.
Grammar: Usually uncountable when it refers to the food: some fugu, not a fugu.
Patterns
- a plate of fugu
Only licensed chefs are allowed to serve fugu in Japan.
He ordered thin slices of fugu at the restaurant in Tokyo.
Eating fugu can be dangerous if it is prepared badly.
nouncountablebiology
The pufferfish itself, a fish that inflates its body and carries a strong poison.
Grammar: Countable when it names the animal: a fugu, many fugu or fugus.
The fugu swelled up when the diver touched it.
A fugu swam slowly along the tank.
Fishermen must handle a fugu carefully.
Word forms
| plural | fugu |
|---|
Common combinations
- serve fugu
- The restaurant serves fugu in winter.
- fugu chef
- A fugu chef trains for years.
- fugu poison
- Fugu poison can be deadly.
- fugu sashimi
- We tried fugu sashimi for the first time.
- fugu restaurant
- A fugu restaurant stands near the harbor.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pufferfish
- Pufferfish is the general English name for the animal, while fugu usually names it as Japanese food.
- blowfish
- Blowfish is an alternative name for the fish, more common in American English.
- globefish
- Globefish is a less common name for the same type of fish.
Word family
- fugu sashimi noun
- thin raw slices of the fish
- pufferfish noun
- the fish's general English name
- tetrodotoxin noun
- the poison found in the fish
Commonly confused: fugu or fungus?
fugu vs fungus
Fungus is a mold or mushroom type of organism, and it has nothing to do with the fish fugu.
Practice
In Japan, chefs need a special license before they can prepare ___ for customers.
Choose one answer.
Fugu is the poisonous pufferfish that needs a license to prepare. Tofu, udon and nori are safe foods with no such requirement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fugu”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.