gyoza

IPA/ɡiːˈəʊ.zə/
IPA/ɡiːˈoʊ.zə/

gyoza — noun

1. a small Japanese dumpling shaped like a half-moon, with a thin pastry skin aroun

1.nounC1
Definition

a small Japanese dumpling shaped like a half-moon, with a thin pastry skin around a filling of pork, vegetables, or seafood, usually pan-fried until the bottom turns crisp.

Example

Dylan ordered a plate of pork gyoza to share with his sister at the ramen shop.

collocation: a plate of gyoza

Yuna folded each gyoza carefully so the edges would seal during cooking.

typical action: fold / seal gyoza

Common collocations
  • pork gyoza
  • fried gyoza
  • a plate of gyoza
  • gyoza wrapper
  • gyoza sauce
Synonyms
  • potsticker

    American English term for the same pan-fried Chinese-style dumpling that gyoza is based on; often used interchangeably in US menus.

  • jiaozi

    Chinese name for the parent dumpling family; usually boiled or steamed rather than pan-fried.

  • dumpling

    general term covering many kinds of filled dough parcels; less specific than gyoza.

Grammar Patterns

a plate of gyoza

order [number] gyoza

Usage Note

Almost always countable; commonly served and ordered by the plate (often six to eight pieces). The plural is usually unchanged (`gyoza`), though `gyozas` is also heard.

Common Mistakes

I want to eat a gyoza soup.
I want to eat gyoza soup.
when used as a modifier, no article is needed before the noun phrase.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a small parcel of dough wrapped around a filling, but they sit at different points on a cultural and cooking-method map. `Gyoza` is the Japanese pan-fried version: thin wrapper, crisp bottom, soft top, usually with a pork-and-cabbage filling. `Potsticker` is the everyday American English term for the same pan-fried style, common on US Chinese-restaurant menus. `Jiaozi` is the Chinese parent family — the same shape, but most often boiled or steamed for a softer texture. `Dumpling` is the broadest of the four and covers everything from Polish pierogi to British suet dumplings; in English-language menus it often appears as a catch-all when the kitchen does not want to commit to a specific tradition. Use `gyoza` when the dish is specifically Japanese-style and pan-fried.

gyoza ↗potstickerjiaozidumpling ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a plate of gyoza
  • pan-fried gyoza
  • pork and cabbage gyoza

Prepositions

  • of (gyoza)

Etymology

ChineseJapaneseEnglish

Borrowed into English from Japanese 餃子 (gyōza) in the second half of the twentieth century. The Japanese word is itself an early-twentieth-century borrowing from Chinese 餃子 (jiǎozi), the family of crescent-shaped dumplings that Japanese soldiers encountered in northeast China and brought home after the Second World War. The pan-fried preparation became the dominant Japanese style, and the romanised spelling `gyoza` entered English along with the spread of Japanese restaurants worldwide.