One thing that connects people all around the world is food. Wherever your travels take you in the world, you will need to eat food!
The Japanese food culture is second to none. If you’re planning a trip to Japan, you’ll definitely want to get out there and experience the country’s amazing restaurants, diners and street food!
Knowing some food related vocabulary will really come in handy when ordering in restaurants and figuring out what is on the menu.
So today let’s dive into learning some essential Japanese food words.
Japanese food related terminology
First up, here are some essential Japanese words to talk about meals and food in general.
| English | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
| Food | 食べ物 | たべもの | tabemono |
| Drink | 飲み物 | のみもの | nomimono |
| Food and drink / eating and drinking | 飲食 | いんしょく | inshoku |
| I’m hungry | お腹が空いている | おなかがすいている | onaka ga suite iru |
| I’m full | お腹がいっぱい | おなかがいっぱい | onaka ga ippai |
| I’m thirsty | 喉が渇いた | のどがかわいた | nodo ga kawaita |
| Dish/cuisine | 料理 | りょうり | ryouri |
| Meal | 食事 | しょくじ | shokuji |
| Japanese food | 和食 | わしょく | washoku |
| Western Food | 洋食 | ようしょく | youshoku |
| Breakfast | 朝ご飯 | あさごはん | asa gohan |
| Lunch | 昼ご飯 | ひるごはん | hiru gohan |
| Dinner | 晩ご飯 | ばんごはん | ban gohan |
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Basic Japanese food words
Next, here are the Japanese vocabulary words for basic types of food. Pay attention to those kanji when reading a restaurant menu!
| English | Kanji | Hiragana | Katakana |
| Meat | 肉 | にく | niku |
| Chicken | 鳥肉 | とりにく | tori niku |
| Beef | 牛肉 | ぎゅうにく | gyuu niku |
| Pork | 豚肉 | ぶたにく | buta niku |
| Fish | 魚 | さかな | sakana |
| Eggs | 卵 | たまご | tamago |
| Rice (grains/uncooked) | 米 | こめ | kome |
| Rice (cooked) | ご飯 | ごはん | gohan |
| Noodles | 麺類 | めんるい | menrui |
| Bread | パン | ぱん | pan |
| Water | 水 | みず | mizu |
| Tea (green tea) | お茶 | おちゃ | ocha |
| Black tea | 紅茶 | こうちゃ | koucha |
| Milk | 牛乳 / ミルク | ぎゅうにゅう / みるく | gyuunyuu / miruku |
| Coffee | コーヒー | こーひー | koohii |
| Juice | ジュース | じゅーす | jyuusu |
| Beer | ビール | びーる | beeru |
| Sweets | お菓子 | おかし | okashi |
| Ice cream | アイス | あいす | aisu |
| Sugar | 砂糖 | さとう | satou |
| Salt | 塩 | しお | shio |
| Pepper | 胡椒 | こしょう | koshou |
Fruit and vegetables in Japanese
Here are some essential fruit and vegetable words in Japanese.
| English | Kanji | Hiragana | Katakana |
| Fruit | 果物 | くだもの | kudamono |
| Apple | りんご | りんご | ringo |
| Banana | バナナ | ばなな | banana |
| Strawberry | 苺 | いちご | ichigo |
| Pear | 梨 | なし | nashi |
| Cherry | 桜桃 | さくらんぼ | sakuranbo |
| Orange | オレンジ | おれんじ | orenji |
| Mandarin | 蜜柑 | みかん | mikan |
| Vegetables | 野菜 | やさい | yasai |
| Carrot | 人参 | にんじん | ninjin |
| Cabbage | キャベツ | きゃべつ | kyabetsu |
| Potato | ポテト | ぽてと | poteto |
| Onion | 玉ねぎ | たまねぎ | tamanegi |
| Broccoli | ブロコり | ぶろこり | burokori |
| Bell pepper | ピーマン | ぴーまん | piiman |
Japanese adjectives to describe food
Now that you may know what you are eating, let’s look at the various ways in which we can describe the taste!
| English | Kanji | Hiragana | Katakana |
| Delicious | 美味しい | おいしい | oishii |
| Spicy | 辛い | からい | karai |
| Sweet | 甘い | あまい | amai |
| Salty | 塩っぱい | しょっぱい | shoppai |
| Bitter | 苦い | にがい | nigai |
| Sour | 酸っぱい | すっぱい | suppai |
| Not tasty | 不味い | まずい | mazui |
Words for utensils in Japanese
Here is some Japanese vocab for some useful utensils! As you can see, a lot of them are borrowed words coming from English.
| English | Kanji | Hiragana | Katakana |
| Fork | フォーク | ふぉーく | fooku |
| Knife | ナイフ | ないふ | naifu |
| Spoon | スプーン | すぷーん | supuun |
| Chopsticks | お箸 | おはし | ohashi |
| Cup | カップ | かっぷ | kappu |
| Plate/dish | 皿 | さら | sara |
Dining etiquette in Japanese culture
As you may know, politeness culture is a huge thing in Japan. This is especially evident in their dining etiquette!
There are many little customs that Japanese people follow when eating, whether it be the order in which dishes are eaten or the manner in which chopsticks are supposed to be used/placed etc.
Don’t be too worried about these little things, as visitors to Japan usually get granted a ‘foreigner card’. This means that you get a pass in relation to certain Japanese practices. They understand that people who are not Japanese are not accustomed to the sometimes specific way Japanese people eat.
That being said, here are a few handy, widely used phrases that you can get under your belt to impress people at the dinner table!
Meshiagare
召し上がれ
Enjoy
Meshiagare (召し上がれ / めしあがれ) comes from the verb meshi agaru (召し上がる) which basically translates as ‘to eat or drink’.
The verb is generally used as the imperative meshiagare (召し上がれ) or meshiagatte kudasai (召し上がって下さい). In this sense, it translates as ‘dig in’ or ‘help yourself’ when presenting food or drinks!
Itadakimasu
いただきます
I humbly receive (this meal) (thank you for the food)
Itadakimasu (頂きます / いただきます) comes from the polite humble verb ‘to receive’ in Japanese. The phrase itadakimasu is uttered just before eating as a way of saying thank you for the meal.
Gochisousama deshita
ご馳走様でした
Thank you for the meal
Gochisousama deshita (ご馳走様でした / ごちそうさまでした) is a polite term that is said after eating and is used to show gratitude for the delicious food you’ve eaten.
When used as gouchisou suru (ご馳走する) it can mean ‘to treat’, when you want to ‘treat’ a friend and pay for the meal!
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Hannah is a half Irish/half Japanese girl living in Ireland. Her love for Japan and the Japanese language led her to studying languages and translation in university where she specialised in Japanese. She spent a year studying abroad at Rikkyo University in Tokyo. In her free time, Hannah enjoys using her sewing machine to upcycle clothes and create new pieces!