katsu

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   A Japanese dish of a thin piece of meat, usually pork or chicken, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried until crisp.

   Grammar: Uncountable for the dish in general, countable when ordering portions: two katsus.

   Patterns

   • chicken katsu
   • pork katsu

   I ordered a chicken katsu with rice and shredded cabbage.

   The restaurant is famous for its crispy pork katsu.

   Katsu is often served with a sweet, brown sauce.

2. 2noununcountableinformal

   A dish, often called katsu curry, in which a fried cutlet is served over rice with a mild, sweet curry sauce.

   Grammar: Usually appears in the compound katsu curry on menus.

   Patterns

   • katsu curry

   Katsu curry is a popular comfort food in the UK.

   We shared a katsu curry and a green salad.

   She makes katsu at home on Friday evenings.

Word forms

Common combinations

chicken katsu

The chicken katsu was crunchy outside and juicy inside.

katsu curry

A bowl of katsu curry is my usual lunch order.

pork katsu

Pork katsu is the traditional version in Japan.

katsu sandwich

The bakery sells a katsu sandwich on soft white bread.

katsu sauce

Pour the katsu sauce over the cutlet just before eating.

Synonyms and how they differ

tonkatsu

Tonkatsu specifically means pork cutlet, whereas katsu can be made with chicken or other meat.

schnitzel

Schnitzel is the German or Austrian breaded cutlet, similar in idea but usually coated differently and served with different sides.

cutlet

Cutlet is a general term for a thin piece of meat and does not tell you it is breaded in Japanese style.

Word family

tonkatsu noun

a breaded fried pork cutlet

katsudon noun

a rice bowl topped with a fried cutlet and egg

panko noun

light Japanese breadcrumbs used for the coating

Commonly confused: katsu or katana?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “katsu”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words