How to say "meal" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 食事しょくじnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbCovers the eating sense of 'meal': an occasion of eating such as lunch or dinner. This is the word for speaking of meals in general, whether at home or eating out.
- 粉こなnounMatches 'meal' only in its ground-grain sense, and even there it is really the general word for flour, powder or dust; for the ground-grain product itself, ミール is the term to use.
- nounCovers the ground-grain sense of 'meal': grain ground into a coarse powder used as food. It never refers to an occasion of eating, so it is no substitute for 食事 or ご飯.
- ご飯ごはんnounCovers the eating sense of 'meal'; the word also means cooked rice, and it fits talk about the meals of the day, such as breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- 飯めしnounCovers the eating sense and food more broadly; being a masculine word, it sounds blunt or rough, as in men chatting with friends, and it is out of place in polite speech.
For the eating sense of 'meal' choose 食事 or 「ご飯」, with 飯 as a masculine, rougher alternative; for the ground-grain sense use 「ミール」, while 粉 is really the general word for flour or powder.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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