Baby Ledger AIEgg shows up on imported packaging in more shapes than almost any other allergen: 蛋 and 鸡蛋 on Chinese labels, 계란 and 달걀 on Korean ones, and 卵, 玉子, たまご, and タマゴ on Japanese ones - before you even reach the egg-white, yolk, and mayonnaise terms. This page collects the egg words actually printed on Chinese, Korean, and Japanese packaging in one table.
It is a single-allergen companion to our three label guides: the foreign food labels hub, the Japanese labels guide, and the Chinese and Korean labels guide.
The words for egg, language by language
| Language | Core word (native script) | Read as | Derivatives and packaging aliases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese (simplified / traditional) | 蛋 / 鸡蛋 / trad. 雞蛋 | dàn / jīdàn | 蛋白 / 蛋清 (egg white), 蛋黄 / trad. 蛋黃 (egg yolk), 蛋粉 (egg powder), 蛋黄酱 / trad. 蛋黃醬 (mayonnaise), 美乃滋 (mayonnaise, Taiwan), 咸蛋 / trad. 鹹蛋 (salted egg), 皮蛋 (century egg), 鹌鹑蛋 / trad. 鵪鶉蛋 (quail egg) |
| Korean | 계란 / 달걀 | gyeran / dalgyal | 알류 (the statutory category, "eggs (poultry)"), 난류 (eggs), 난백 (egg white), 난황 (egg yolk), 전란분 (whole-egg powder), 마요네즈 (mayonnaise), 메추리알 (quail egg) |
| Japanese | 卵 / 玉子 / たまご / タマゴ | tamago | 鶏卵 (hen's egg), 全卵 (whole egg), 卵白 (egg white), 卵黄 (egg yolk), うずらの卵 (quail egg), マヨネーズ (mayonnaise) |
A few notes that matter at the shelf:
- 蛋白质 is protein, not egg white. 蛋白质 (trad. 蛋白質) is the everyday Chinese word for protein from any source, so it appears in nutrition panels constantly. 蛋白 or 蛋清 standing alone in an ingredient list, though, is egg white.
- Korea's egg category covers poultry eggs generally. The designated item is 알류 (eggs from poultry), so quail eggs (메추리알) and duck eggs fall under the same callout as hen's eggs.
- Japanese egg wears four spellings. Kanji 卵 and 玉子, hiragana たまご, and katakana タマゴ are all read tamago and all mean egg, and one package can use more than one of them.
- The parenthetical （卵を含む）("contains egg") is one of the most common allergen notations on Japanese packages, printed right after ingredient names like マヨネーズ (mayonnaise).
Where to look on the package
First, find the ingredient list. On mainland Chinese labels the header is 配料 or 配料表 (pèiliào / pèiliàobiǎo). Products from Taiwan or Hong Kong usually print traditional characters and often head the list with 成分 or 成份 (chéngfèn) instead. On Korean labels the header is 원재료명 (wonjaeryomyeong, "raw material names"), with the allergen box nearby.
Japanese packaged foods usually carry the allergen information in one of two places, and often both:
- Inside the ingredient list (原材料名, "genzairyō-mei"). Allergens appear as part of the ingredients, sometimes with the allergen name in parentheses right after an ingredient, for example "マヨネーズ（卵を含む）" meaning "mayonnaise (contains egg)."
- In a separate allergen summary line, often introduced by a phrase like "アレルギー物質" (allergy substances) or "特定原材料" (specified raw materials). This is the closest thing to the US "Contains:" line.
Look for the heading 原材料名 to find the ingredient list, and scan both the list itself and any nearby summary line.
Is egg a mandatory callout in each market?
- Japan: egg (卵) is on the mandatory allergen list, so a package must declare it when it is an ingredient.
- Korea: eggs from poultry (알류) are a designated allergen, declared in the boxed 함유 ("contains") callout near the ingredient list.
- Mainland China: allergen labeling is voluntary under the current standard (GB 7718-2011); the revised standard GB 7718-2025 makes eggs one of the mandatory categories when it takes effect on March 16, 2027.
Frequently asked questions
How is egg written on Chinese, Korean, and Japanese labels?
On Chinese labels look for 蛋 (dàn) and compounds like 鸡蛋 (trad. 雞蛋, jīdàn). On Korean labels egg is 계란 (gyeran) or 달걀 (dalgyal). On Japanese labels it is 卵 or 玉子 (both read tamago), plus the kana spellings たまご and タマゴ.
Does 蛋白质 on a Chinese label mean the product contains egg?
Not by itself. 蛋白质 (trad. 蛋白質) is the ordinary Chinese word for protein and refers to protein from any source. 蛋白 or 蛋清 standing alone in an ingredient list, though, is egg white.
What is the difference between 卵 and 玉子 on a Japanese label?
Both are read tamago and both mean egg. 卵 is the general character; 玉子 is common in food contexts, as in 玉子焼き (rolled omelet). On an ingredient list they are the same word.