spatula

spatulas

In Japanese, a 'hera' is a tool that is made by planing a board. (See the image above.) So, the one on the right is a "wood-hera," and the one in the middle is a "rubber-hera." But the one on the left is not a "hera." It is a "furai-gaeshi" or a "tool to turn when frying." And we regard those tools as different things by their usages. But a chef student of mine taught me that all the tools in the picture are called "spatulas" in English. It is very interesting to me that all their names are the same. As for "hera," a shoehorn is also called "shoe-hera" in Japanese. So I asked him, "Is a shoehorn also a "spatula" in English?" It seemed I made an unintentionally comical question, and he burst into laughter.