How to say "breakfast" in Japanese

• 朝食ちょうしょくCommon
  nounThe neutral word for the morning meal itself, at home in writing, schedules, hotel and travel contexts, and polite conversation; a reliable choice whenever you simply mean 'breakfast'.
  私はまだ朝食ちょうしょくを食たべていません。↗

  I haven't eaten breakfast yet.
• 朝ごはんあさごはんJLPT N5approx.Common
  nounThe everyday spoken word for breakfast, built on ごはん 'cooked rice; meal'; what you naturally say at home or with friends, for instance asking whether someone has eaten breakfast.
  朝あさごはんにはなにがよろしいですか。↗

  What would you like for breakfast?
• 朝飯あさめしCommon
  nounA rougher, casual take on the morning meal, with a blunt or masculine flavor; natural among close friends or in coarse speech, but it can sound gruff in polite company.
  いつも何時なんどきに朝飯あさめしを食たべますか。↗

  What time do you usually have breakfast?
• 朝あさJLPT N5approx.Common
  nounReally just 'morning'; it stands in for the morning meal only in set colloquial usages, so it is seldom the word you want for the meal itself — take 朝ごはん or 朝食 instead.
• 粥かゆJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounRice porridge or gruel; its link to 'breakfast' is specific to the porridge served as the morning meal in Zen temples — outside that setting it just names the dish, not the meal generally.

Use 朝食 for the meal in neutral, written, or polite contexts, 「朝ごはん」 in everyday conversation, and 朝飯 only in rough casual speech; 朝 really means 'morning' and only loosely covers the meal, while 粥 is the Zen-temple porridge.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 朝食ちょうしょくbreakfast
• 朝ごはんあさごはんbreakfast
• 朝飯あさめしbreakfast
• 朝餉あさげbreakfast
• ブレックファーストbreakfast
• 朝あさbreakfast
• 粥かゆbreakfast (in Zen temples)