Explore 卵 in meals and in the life cycle of animals. Learn its readings in complete words.
The idea
卵 has 7 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 卵 is たまご as an independent word, while 卵黄（らんおう） and 産卵（さんらん） use らん in compounds.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 卵 | たまご | egg |
| 卵黄 | らんおう | egg yolk |
| 産卵 | さんらん | laying eggs |
Examples
- 朝食に卵を食べました。I ate an egg for breakfast.
- 卵を二つ加えてください。Please add two eggs.
- 鳥が巣に卵を産みました。The bird laid an egg in the nest.
- 卵アレルギーがある場合は、原材料を確認してください。Check the ingredients if you have an egg allergy.
- 卵黄は黄色です。The egg yolk is yellow.
- 博物館には恐竜の化石や卵が展示されています。The museum displays dinosaur fossils and eggs.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
卵 and 玉子 can both refer to eggs as food; 卵 also covers animal eggs in biology. Do not confuse 卵 with the similar-looking 卯.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 卵 in hiragana.
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たまご
卵 is たまご as a word: 朝食に卵を食べました means I ate an egg for breakfast.
Write the reading of 卵黄 in hiragana.
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らんおう
卵黄 is らんおう: it means egg yolk, the yellow part of an egg.
Choose the missing kanji: 産＿（さんらん）［卵／卯］.
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卵
卵 completes 産卵（さんらん）, the laying of eggs; 卯 is a different character.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 卵 in hiragana.
Write the reading of 卵黄 in hiragana.
Choose the missing kanji: 産＿（さんらん）［卵／卯］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 卵 following the diagram. Cover the table, read 卵黄 and 産卵, then make a sentence about an egg.