Food in Japanese

Today we’re going to learn how to say food in Japanese along with some of the most common words for food items in Japanese which are sure to get your mouth watering.

It’s important to know some basic vocabulary for food when traveling in Japanese. You’ll find it handy when going out to eat or when shopping for food in a market. Let’s tuck in to this lesson!

Resources for further reading:

Pronouncing food in Japanese

Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record

Rocket Record lets you perfect your Japanese pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!

食べ物

たべもの

Tabemono

Food

How about different types of food? These words will come in handy at the supermarket, a restaurant, or anywhere else you need to talk about food in Japanese.

パン

パン

Pan

Bread

バター

バター

Batā  

Butter

ケーキ

ケーキ

Kēki   

Cake

チーズ

チーズ

Chīzu 

Cheese

たまご

Tamago

Egg

にく

Niku

Meat

牛乳

ぎゅうにゅう

Gyūnyū

Milk

しお

Shio

Salt

ソーセージ

ソーセージ

Sōsēji

Sausage

果物

くだもの

Kudamono

Fruit

野菜

やさい

Yasai

Vegetables

小麦粉

こむぎこ

Komugiko

Flour

ステーキ

ステーキ

Sutēki 

Steak

サンドイッチ

サンドイッチ

Sandoicchi

Sandwich

サラダ

サラダ

Sarada

Salad

It’s important to know some basic vocabulary for food when traveling in a Japan. You’ll find it useful when going out to eat or when shopping for food in a market to talk about what you like, what you don’t like, or perhaps you have a food allergy you need to tell your waiter about:

私は ___ が好きです

わたし は  ___ が すき です

Watashi wa ___ ga suki desu

I like ___

私は ___ が好きではありません

わたし は  ___ が すき では ありません

Watashi wa ___ ga suki dewa arimasen

I do not like ___

私は ___アレルギーです

わたし は  ___アレルギー です

Watashi wa ___ arerugī desu

I'm allergic ___

I hope you enjoyed this lesson! I don’t know about you, but I am ready to tuck into サンドイッチ (Sandwich)! Next time you need to go grocery shopping or find out what kind of ingredients are in the food at a restaurant, you’ll be equipped with this vocabulary to help you along. いただきます (Itadaki masu)!

For more lessons on Japanese vocabulary I recommend these!

Sayōnara!

Sayaka Matsuura: Rocket Japanese

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