"Is it vegan?" in Japanese (printable explanations)

You can download a printable PDF of the file here.

Here are three statements you can print out and show to staff at restaurants or shops to ask whether something is vegan or not/can be made vegan. The Japanese word “Dame” (pronounced “dah-meh”) means “No good” or “No go.” The English word “Okay” is also used in Japanese.

For restaurants / cafes (the part in blue can be left out by those who do not wish to insist on this)

I am vegan, in other words strict vegetarian. I cannot eat any kind of animal foods. This includes meat, fish, fish eggs, things that contain fish/chicken/beef broth, chicken eggs, milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt and honey. Would you be able to cook something that I can eat? (Examples: fried tofu, vegetable stir fry, vegetable curry, or pasta with arrabbiata sauce).

Is it vegan? 乳化剤, the confusing 'emulsifier'

Many members of our Facebook group have raised questions surrounding a common ingredient found in sweets, drinks and other products: 乳化剤 (nyuu-ka-zai). Dictionaries tend to provide the English translation emulsifier, but concern often arises from the presence of the character 乳, which represents milk. Hence the question: Is 乳化剤 vegan?

The truth is, 乳 does not imply dairy. For example, the Japanese word for soy milk is 豆乳 (tou-nyuu). Thus, the presence of 乳 is not itself an indication of whether a product is vegan or otherwise, as is the case in 乳化剤.

This leaves us with the unsatisfying conclusion that it is impossible to tell whether an ingredient listed as 乳化剤 is safe for vegans without further information. Emulsifiers can be both plant- and animal-derived. To see a list of common emulsifiers along with an indication of whether or not they are suitable for vegans, please refer to this link.