How to say "cooking" in Japanese

• 料理りょうりJLPT N5approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbThe general-purpose word: it covers cooking as an activity and also the dishes or cuisine that result, so it is the safest choice in most everyday contexts.
  これらのりんごは料理りょうり用ようにもってこいだ。↗

  These apples are good cookers.
• 調理ちょうりJLPT N1approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, transitive verbFocuses on the preparation and handling of food — the work done to ingredients — rather than on the finished dishes or the meal; it fits when food preparation as a process is the topic.
  卵たまごはどのように調理ちょうりいたしましょうか。↗

  How do you like your eggs done?
• クッキングCommon
  nounThe katakana loanword for 'cooking'; it carries an English flavor and is most at home in the names of cooking shows, cookbooks and similar products rather than in everyday sentences.
• 炊事すいじJLPT N2approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, intransitive verbTreats cooking as kitchen work: the routine domestic job of getting daily meals done. It suits talk about housework and chores, not about cuisine or cooking as an interest or skill.
  私は炊事すいじが全然ぜんぜんできない。↗

  I'm all thumbs in the kitchen.
• 割烹かっぽうCommon
  nounCovers Japanese-style cooking and cuisine; it is not a general word for cooking, and you will typically meet it in the names of restaurants specializing in this style.

料理 is the all-purpose word for cooking and dishes; 調理 centers on food preparation as a process, 炊事 on kitchen work as a chore, 「クッキング」 is the katakana loanword, and 割烹 is for Japanese-style cuisine.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 料理りょうりcooking
• 調理ちょうりcooking
• クッキングcooking
• 炊事すいじcooking
• 割烹かっぽうcooking (esp. Japanese style)
• 煮炊きにたきcooking
• 炊さんすいさんcooking (rice, grains)
• 蒸解じょうかいcooking (of wood to produce pulp in paper production)
• 勝手向きかってむきkitchen-related
• メイクmaking food (in a delivery-only restaurant)