煎蛋卷
jiāndànjuǎn
The English phrase omelette is translated into Chinese as 煎蛋卷 (jiāndànjuǎn). Wiktionary also lists 煎蛋餅 / 煎蛋饼 (jiāndànbǐng) and 攤雞蛋 / 摊鸡蛋 (tānjīdàn).
Meaning: dish made with beaten eggs (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 煎蛋卷 | jiāndànjuǎn |
| 煎蛋餅 / 煎蛋饼 | jiāndànbǐng |
| 攤雞蛋 / 摊鸡蛋 | tānjīdàn |
This term refers to a dish made with beaten eggs.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 煎蛋卷 is composed of 煎 (pan-fry), 蛋 (egg) and 卷 (roll).
Which one should you use?
The term 煎蛋卷 specifically implies an omelette that has been rolled. In contrast, 煎蛋餅 refers to a flat, pancake-like omelette, using the character for pancake or cake to describe a flat, circular egg dish.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In areas influenced by Western culinary traditions, the term 西式煎蛋 is used to refer to a Western-style omelette. For an onion omelette, you would use 洋葱煎蛋.
How do you pronounce it?
jiāndànjuǎn
Did you know?
- While 煎蛋卷 is the literal term for an omelette, the character 卷 also describes the famous 'egg rolls' found in Western-Chinese takeout, though those are usually made with a wheat wrapper rather than just eggs.
- A dish described as 攤雞蛋 involves the action of 'spreading' or 'leveling' the eggs across the pan, emphasizing the movement of the cook.
- In many Chinese contexts, a dish that sounds like an omelette might actually be a 'scrambled egg' dish if the verb used is 炒 (stir-fry) instead of 煎 (pan-fry).
Examples in context
- 我早餐吃了一個煎蛋卷。Wǒ zǎocān chīle yīgè jiāndànjuǎn.I ate an omelette for breakfast.
- 這份煎蛋卷很好吃。Zhè fèn jiāndànjuǎn hěn hǎochī.This omelette is delicious.
- 妳想要蔬菜煎蛋卷嗎？Nǐ xiǎng yào shūcài jiāndànjuǎn ma?Do you want a vegetable omelette?
Example conversation
Junjie and Yuting are deciding what to have for breakfast.
- 俊杰 Junjie雨婷，早餐想吃什么？Yǔtíng, zǎocān xiǎng chī shénme?Yuting, what do you want for breakfast?
- 雨婷 Yuting我想吃一个煎蛋卷。Wǒ xiǎng chī yīgè jiāndànjuǎn.I want to eat an omelette.
- 俊杰 Junjie好的，我现在就去做。Hǎo de, wǒ xiànzài jiù qù zuò.Okay, I will go make it now.
- 雨婷 Yuting谢谢你，俊杰！Xièxiè nǐ, Jùnjié!Thank you, Junjie!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “omelette” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
