卵・玉子|たまごtamago[2]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. nouneggs; egg; spawn; roe
2. noun(hen's) eggoft. 玉子 in cooking
   卵たまごは硬かたくゆでてください。↗

   Boil the eggs hard.

   卵たまごを一いちダースづつつめなさい。↗

   Pack eggs in dozens.
3. nouna ... in the making; future (lawyer, doctor, etc.); budding ...as ...の卵
   彼かれは医者いしゃの卵たまごだ。↗

   He's a future doctor.
4. nounbeginning; origin; infancy

• Synonym鶏卵けいらんWrittenWritten/formal word for hen eggs, common in commerce, statistics and recipe descriptions; in everyday speech people say 「卵」.
• Synonym鳥の子とりのこWrittenOld-fashioned written word for a bird's egg or a chick; also the name of a traditional Japanese paper. Rare in everyday use.
• Related卵子らんしWrittenFormal biology and medical term for an egg cell; most often said of human eggs.
• Related卵細胞らんさいぼうWrittenFormal biology term for the female reproductive cell (the ovum); it does not refer to eggs as food.
• Antonym成体せいたいWrittenFormal biology term for the opposite of 「卵」: an organism that has grown until it can reproduce.

For eggs in daily life, 「卵」 is the default. Use 「鶏卵」 for hen eggs in commerce, statistics or recipes; 「卵子」 and 「卵細胞」 for reproductive cells in biology or medicine; 「成体」 for the grown organism. 「鳥の子」 is old-fashioned, for a bird's egg or chick.

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

1. （たまご）特とくに、食料しょくりょうとして一般的いっぱんてきである、鶏にわとりの卵たまご。鶏卵けいらん。
2. （たまご）将来しょうらい何なんかになる見込みこみはあるが、まだ一人前いちにんまえでないもの。