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とろとろ torotoro
Melty, gooey, slow-flowing.
What does torotoro mean?
Cheese pulling off the pizza, a soft-set omelette, stew simmered for hours. Menu writers reach for it whenever they want you to feel hungry.
Example
チーズがとろとろに溶けている。
The cheese is melted and gorgeously gooey.
Vibe
Who you can say this to, and how it lands.
Safe to use Fine in ordinary conversation.
The story behind torotoro
Toro toro is the slow flow: cheese lifting off a pizza in strings, a half-set omelette collapsing over rice, onions cooked down until they surrender, stew that has been on the stove since morning. Food writers reach for it constantly, because it describes not a taste but a speed, and the speed is what makes you hungry.
The same root shows up on the sushi counter. Toro, the fatty cut of tuna, is commonly explained as being named for exactly this melting quality. Away from food the word turns lazy rather than luxurious: driving torotoro means crawling, and toroi as an adjective is a mild insult about somebody slow on the uptake.
Get torotoro in your pocket
とろとろ is one of 308 words in YABAI, a Japanese culture snack for Android. Every word comes with its meaning, an example sentence, a vibe check and a story like the one above — in 13 languages, read aloud by your device. Paid app: no ads, no sign-up, no subscription.
