Food & Drink

毎日まいにち三回さんかいの食事しょくじを規則正しくきそくただしく取るとることが大切たいせつです。

It is important to eat three regular meals a day.

Usage 食事する = to have a meal, but 食事を取る is the more formal phrasing used here. 規則正しく = on a proper, regular schedule.

Remember it 食 (eat) + 事 (matter, affair). The business of eating.

朝食ちょうしょくを食べないたべないと、午前中ごぜんちゅうに集中しゅうちゅうできません。

If I don't eat breakfast, I can't concentrate all morning.

Usage 朝食 is the written, formal word; 朝ご飯 is what people actually say. The same split runs through 昼食/昼ご飯 and 夕食/晩ご飯.

Remember it 朝 (morning) + 食 (meal), both in their on-readings: ちょう + しょく.

同僚どうりょうと一緒いっしょに昼食ちゅうしょくを取りとりました。

I had lunch together with my colleagues.

Usage Note 昼 reads ちゅう here, not ひる. Meals pair with 取る in formal writing and with 食べる in speech.

Remember it 昼 (midday) + 食 (meal). The midday one.

夕食ゆうしょくの時間じかんに家族かぞくが集まりますあつまります。

The family gathers at dinner time.

Usage 夕食 in writing, 晩ご飯 (ばんごはん) in conversation, with 夕飯 (ゆうはん) sitting between the two.

Remember it 夕 (evening) + 食 (meal). The evening one.

お腹なかが空いたすいたので、早くはやくご飯はんを食べたべたいです。

I'm hungry, so I want to eat soon.

Usage ご飯 means both cooked rice and a meal in general — 朝ご飯 is breakfast whether rice appears or not. お腹が空く = to get hungry.

Remember it 飯 = 飠 (food) + 反. The polite ご turns it into the everyday word for a meal.

朝あさはいつもパンとコーヒーこーひーを食べたべます。

I always have bread and coffee in the morning.

Usage From Portuguese pão, not from English. False friend warning: a cooking pan is フライパン, never パン. パン屋 = bakery.

Remember it パン = pão, carried to Japan by Portuguese traders in the 1500s. Two mora: ぱ-ん.

一息ひといきついて、お茶ちゃでも飲みのみませんか？

Shall we take a breather and have some tea?

Usage Nearly always said with お. お茶する means to go out for a drink casually. 緑茶 = green tea, 紅茶 (こうちゃ) = black tea.

Remember it 茶 wears 艹 (grass) on top — a leaf plant. The same character reached English as 'tea' through a southern Chinese dialect.

喉のどが渇いたかわいたので水みずを一杯いっぱい飲みのみました。

I was thirsty, so I drank a glass of water.

Usage Important: 水 means cold water only. Hot water is お湯 (おゆ), a separate word — there is no such thing as 'hot 水' in Japanese.

Remember it 水 is a stream drawn down the middle with currents branching off either side.

毎朝まいあさ牛乳ぎゅうにゅうを一杯いっぱい飲むのむのが習慣しゅうかんです。

Drinking a glass of milk every morning is a habit of mine.

Usage 牛乳 is cow's milk specifically. ミルク is used for milk in coffee and for baby formula. Glasses are counted with 一杯 (いっぱい).

Remember it 牛 (cow) + 乳 (milk). Literally cow-milk.

オレンジおれんじジュースとリンゴりんごジュース、どちらがいいですか？

Orange juice or apple juice — which would you like?

Usage In Japan ジュース often stretches to cover any sweet soft drink, not only fruit juice. 100%ジュース specifies the real thing.

Remember it From English 'juice', stretched to three mora: じゅ-う-す.

仕事しごとの後あと、冷たいつめたいビールを飲むのむのが楽しみたのしみです。

Having a cold beer after work is something I look forward to.

Usage From Dutch bier rather than English beer. 生ビール (なまビール) = draught, 缶ビール = canned. Order it by the glass: ビール一杯.

Remember it ビール = bier (Dutch). The long ー gives it three mora: び-い-る.

お酒おさけは二十歳はたちになってから飲んのんでください。

Please don't drink alcohol until you turn twenty.

Usage False friend: お酒 means alcohol of any kind. What English calls 'sake' is 日本酒 (にほんしゅ) in Japan. Note 二十歳 reads はたち.

Remember it 酒 = 氵 (liquid) + 酉 (a wine jar). Liquid poured from the jar.

この料理りょうりは肉にくと野菜やさいをいためて作りつくります。

This dish is made by stir-frying meat and vegetables.

Usage Name the animal in front: 牛肉 (beef), 豚肉 (ぶたにく, pork), 鶏肉 (とりにく, chicken). いためる = to stir-fry.

Remember it 肉 began as a drawing of a cut of meat, the inner strokes marking the grain.

新鮮しんせんな魚さかなを市場いちばで買ってかってきました。

I bought fresh fish at the market.

Usage さかな is the everyday reading. The on-reading ぎょ shows up in compounds: 金魚 (goldfish), 魚市場 (fish market). 新鮮 = fresh.

Remember it 魚 is a pictograph — head at the top, body with scales, and the four bottom dots were once the tail fin.

健康けんこうのために、毎日まいにち野菜やさいを食べるたべるようにしています。

For my health, I make a point of eating vegetables every day.

Usage ようにしている = 'I make an effort to do' — an N3 grammar staple, weaker than なければならない but stronger than just doing it.

Remember it 野 (field) + 菜 (greens). Greens out of the field.

夏なつはスイカや桃ももなどの果物くだものがおいしいです。

In summer, fruit like watermelon and peaches taste wonderful.

Usage 果物 is an irregular whole-word reading: くだもの, not かぶつ. や…など lists examples without claiming to be complete.

Remember it 果 is a tree with fruit sitting in its branches, plus 物 (thing). Tree-things.

このケーキけーきを作るつくるのに卵たまごが三つみっつ必要ひつようです。

You need three eggs to make this cake.

Usage 卵 is the raw or biological egg; menus often write 玉子 for cooked egg dishes. Same reading, different impression.

Remember it 卵 shows two eggs side by side, each with a dot for the yolk.

冷奴ひややっこは冷たいつめたい豆腐とうふにしょうゆしょうゆをかけたシンプルな料理りょうりです。

Hiyayakko is a simple dish of cold tofu with soy sauce poured over it.

Usage Counted with 丁 (ちょう): 豆腐一丁. 冷奴 = chilled tofu, 湯豆腐 = simmered. かける = to pour something over.

Remember it 豆 (bean) + 腐 (to curdle, to ferment). Curdled bean — precisely what tofu is.

お味噌汁みそしるは日本にほんの食卓しょくたくに欠かせないかかせない料理りょうりです。

Miso soup is a dish you can't do without on a Japanese table.

Usage Usually said as お味噌汁. 欠かせない = indispensable. Etiquette note: you lift the bowl and drink it, rather than using a spoon.

Remember it 味噌 (miso) + 汁 (しる, broth). 汁 = 氵 (liquid) + 十.

お祝いいわいがあるので、今夜こんや寿司すしを食べたべに行きいきましょう。

We have something to celebrate, so let's go out for sushi tonight.

Usage Verb stem + に行く = to go in order to do: 食べに行く. 回転寿司 (かいてんずし) is the conveyor-belt kind.

Remember it 寿 (long life) + 司 (to manage) were picked for sound and good fortune, not meaning — a lucky spelling for a celebratory food.

あの店みせのラーメンはスープすーぷが濃くてこくて絶品ぜっぴんです。

The ramen at that shop has a rich broth and is superb.

Usage The four main styles are 醤油 (しょうゆ), 塩 (しお), 味噌 (みそ) and 豚骨 (とんこつ). 濃い = rich or strong in flavour.

Remember it From Chinese 拉麺 (lā miàn, 'pulled noodles'). Japan then turned it into a national obsession.

かぜをひいたとき、温かいあたたかいうどんを食べるたべると体からだが温まりあたたまります。

When you have a cold, eating hot udon warms you up.

Usage Thick white wheat noodles, almost always written in hiragana. Note 温かい is warm to the touch, while 暖かい describes warm weather.

Remember it Tell the noodles apart by sight: うどん thick and white, そば thin and brown.

年越しとしこしそばは、大晦日おおみそかの夜よるに食べるたべる伝統でんとうがあります。

There is a tradition of eating year-crossing soba on New Year's Eve.

Usage Buckwheat noodles. 年越しそば is eaten on 大晦日 (New Year's Eve) as a wish for a long life. Careful: そば also means 'beside'.

Remember it Thin buckwheat noodles against うどん's thick wheat. The homophone 側 (そば, beside) has nothing to do with food.

カレーライスは日本にほんの国民食こくみんしょくの一つです。

Curry rice is one of Japan's national dishes.

Usage Japanese curry is mild, thick and slightly sweet — closer to a stew than to Indian curry. It arrived via the British navy.

Remember it From English 'curry'. カレーライス is the whole dish; カレー alone is the sauce.

お子様こさまランチにはハンバーグがついています。

The children's meal comes with a hamburger steak.

Usage False friend alert: ハンバーグ is a bunless patty, closer to Salisbury steak. A burger in a bun is ハンバーガー. Order carefully.

Remember it From German Hamburg, by way of 'Hamburg steak' — not from English 'hamburger'.

誕生日たんじょうびにチョコレートちょこれーとケーキを買ってかってもらいました。

I was bought a chocolate cake for my birthday.

Usage 買ってもらう = to have someone buy it for you. That てもらう favour pattern is heavily tested at N3. ショートケーキ = strawberry sponge.

Remember it From English 'cake', three mora: け-え-き.

夏なつの暑いあつい日ひにアイスクリームを食べるたべるのが最高さいこうです。

Eating ice cream on a hot summer day is the best.

Usage Usually shortened to アイス in speech. Japanese clips long loanwords constantly: エアコン, スーパー, コンビニ, パソコン.

Remember it From English 'ice cream' — six mora in full, which is exactly why it gets clipped.

このイチゴは甘くてあまくてとてもおいしいです。

These strawberries are sweet and very good.

Usage 甘い also means lenient or naive: 考えが甘い = your thinking is naive, 甘やかす = to spoil a child. That sense turns up often in reading passages.

Remember it 甘 is a mouth with a line held inside it — something being savoured.

この料理りょうりは辛くてからくて、涙なみだが出そうですそうです。

This dish is so spicy it's about to bring tears to my eyes.

Usage Big trap: the same kanji also reads つらい, meaning painful or emotionally hard. 辛い (からい) = spicy, 辛い (つらい) = tough. Context decides.

Remember it 辛 was originally a branding needle — sharp and stinging. Both readings grew out of that sting.

このスープは塩辛すぎてしおからすぎて、あまり飲めのめません。

This soup is too salty for me to drink much of it.

Usage Stem + すぎる = too much: 塩辛すぎる. Regional note: in Kansai people often say からい for salty as well, which confuses learners.

Remember it 塩 (salt) + 辛い (sharp-tasting). Sharp with salt.

あの店みせの料理りょうりはまずくて、二度にどと行きいきたくないです。

The food at that place was awful, and I never want to go back.

Usage まずい also means 'this is bad' about a situation: まずい、遅刻する！ Both senses are everyday, so listen for context. 二度と + negative = never again.

Remember it The direct opposite of おいしい. Almost always written in kana.

お母さんかあさんの手料理てりょうりは本当ほんとうにおいしいです。

My mother's home cooking is really delicious.

Usage おいしい is the polite everyday word; うまい is its blunt, casual cousin. 手料理 (てりょうり) = home cooking, made by hand.

Remember it Written 美味しい in kanji — 'beautiful taste' — but you will nearly always see it in kana.

ゆっくり食べるたべると、消化しょうかに良いよいです。

If you eat slowly, it's good for your digestion.

Usage The humble form is いただく (hence いただきます before a meal); the honorific is 召し上がる (めしあがる). Both show up at N3.

Remember it 食 is a lid sitting over a vessel of rice — a covered bowl of food.

薬くすりを飲むのむのを忘れわすれないでください。

Please don't forget to take your medicine.

Usage Key difference from English: Japanese 飲む covers taking medicine, tablets included — 薬を飲む, never 取る. 飲みに行く = to go out drinking.

Remember it 飲 = 飠 (food) + 欠 (a person with mouth wide open). An open mouth at a vessel.

週末しゅうまつに家族かぞくのために料理りょうりを作るつくるのが好きすきです。

I like cooking for my family at the weekend.

Usage 作る covers cooking, building and creating. 料理を作る = to cook. Larger-scale manufacturing uses 造る; abstract creation uses 創る.

Remember it 作 = 亻 (person) + 乍. A person shaping something into being.

調理ちょうりする前まえに、手てをよくよく洗いあらいましょう。

Let's wash our hands well before cooking.

Usage 調理 is the technical term used in recipes, professional kitchens and food-safety notices. In conversation people simply say 作る.

Remember it 調 (to prepare, to tune) + 理 (to arrange). Preparing and arranging food properly.

ウェイターうぇいたーを呼んでよんで、料理りょうりを注文ちゅうもんしました。

I called the waiter over and ordered the food.

Usage 注文する works for restaurants and online shopping alike. ご注文は？ is what staff will ask you at the counter.

Remember it 注 (to pour, to focus) + 文 (writing). Setting down what you want.

彼女かのじょの誕生日たんじょうびに、おしゃれなレストランを予約よやくしました。

I booked a stylish restaurant for her birthday.

Usage レストラン implies Western-style dining. Japanese-style places are 食堂, 居酒屋 (いざかや) or just お店. 予約する = to reserve.

Remember it From French by way of English, five mora: れ-す-と-ら-ん.

学校がっこうの食堂しょくどうでは安くやすく食事しょくじができます。

You can eat cheaply at the school cafeteria.

Usage 食堂 is a canteen or a plain neighbourhood eatery — school, office, or an old family-run shop. Unpretentious by definition.

Remember it 食 (eat) + 堂 (hall). An eating hall.

雨あめが降ってふっていたので、喫茶店きっさてんで雨宿りあまやどりをしました。

It was raining, so I took shelter in a coffee shop.

Usage 喫茶店 is the traditional Japanese coffee house — quiet, often decades old. Modern chains are called カフェ instead.

Remember it 喫 (to consume) + 茶 (tea) + 店 (shop). A shop for consuming tea.

毎朝まいあさお母さんおかあさんが弁当べんとうを作ってつくってくれます。

My mother makes me a packed lunch every morning.

Usage てくれる marks someone doing something for you — 作ってくれる. 駅弁 (えきべん) is the station bento sold for train journeys.

Remember it The kanji are ateji from an old word for convenience. It travelled into English intact as 'bento'.