How to say "tongue" in Japanese

• 舌したJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe ordinary word for the tongue as the organ in the mouth. This is the word you want in almost any literal context, including describing taste or sticking out the tongue.
  コーヒーは舌したが焼やけるほど熱あつかった。↗

  The coffee was so hot that I nearly burned my tongue.
• タンCommon
  nounRefers to tongue as a food, i.e. beef or pork tongue served as a dish. Use it when ordering food or reading menus; it is never used for the organ itself.
• ベロCommon
  nounA colloquial word for the tongue. It covers the same literal sense as 舌 but sounds casual or playful, so it suits informal speech rather than careful or written language.
• 弁べんCommon
  nounMeans tongue only in the figurative sense of speech, talk, or eloquence. It is seldom the word you want for the physical tongue; it really refers to a person's manner of speaking.

Use 舌 for the body part, 「タン」 for tongue as food, 「ベロ」 as a colloquial word for the tongue, and 弁 only in the sense of speech or eloquence.

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

• 舌したtongue
• タンtongue (beef, pork, etc.)
• べろtongue
• 弁べんspeech
• 舌革したがわtongue (of a shoe)
• 実さねtongue (projecting strip on a board that fits into a groove on another board)