膳|ぜんzen[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounsmall dining table (usu. for a single person); serving tray (with legs)
2. nounmeal; food; serving
3. countercounter for bowlfuls of rice
4. countercounter for pairs of chopsticks

• Synonym食膳しょくぜんNeutralThe food laid out for a meal (「食膳に上る」); tends toward written prose and stresses the dishes rather than the table.
• Related食卓しょくたくNeutralThe most general word for a dining table (「食卓を囲む」); also used figuratively for family meals.
• RelatedダイニングテーブルNeutralLoanword for a Western-style dining table (「ダイニングテーブルを買う」); a modern household word, while 「膳」 is a traditional one-person table or the food served.
• Relatedちゃぶ台ちゃぶだいNeutralA low table with short legs that folds, round or square (「ちゃぶ台を囲む」); 「膳」 is a small table set for one person.
• Related飯台はんだいNeutralA table for several people eating side by side; also a boxed tray (「箱膳」). 「膳」 is a small table for one.

Use 「膳」 for the traditional small table set for one person, the meal served on it, or as a counter for rice and chopsticks (「お膳を下げる」「箸一膳」). For a modern dining table say 「食卓」 or 「ダイニングテーブル」; a folding low table is 「ちゃぶ台」.

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

1. （ゼン）一人前いちにんまえの食器しょっきと食物しょくもつを載のせる台だい。
2. （ゼン）一人前いちにんまえの食事しょくじ。