食|しょくshoku[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounfood; foodstuff
2. nouneating; appetite
3. noun, countermeal; portion
   あのレストランは毎日まいにち二千にせん食しょく準備じゅんびしている。↗

   That restaurant prepares two thousand meals every day.

• Related食みはみWrittenLivestock such as cattle and horses nibbling fodder or grass; rarely used alone in modern Japanese. For people's eating and diet, use 「食」 or 「食事」.
• Related食いくいCasualEating, with a casual, rough-and-ready feel; common in 「大食い」 and 「食い気」, and also a fish biting the hook. 「食」 is more neutral.
• Related摂食せっしょくWrittenWritten/formal word for taking in food, used mainly in biology and medicine, as in 「摂食障害」. 「食」 is the everyday term for diet and appetite.
• Related食べることNeutralA plain, explanatory way of saying the act of eating; the most everyday phrasing. 「食」 is more concise and appears mostly in compounds like 「食生活」 and 「和食」.

For food and diet, 「食」 and its compounds are the default; say 「食べること」 for a plain explanation of eating, 「摂食」 in medical or biological writing, and 「食い」 when a casual tone fits.

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

1. （ショク）食たべること。
2. （ショク）たべもの。食事しょくじ。
3. （ショク）天体てんたいが欠かけて見みえること。「蝕しょく」の代用だいよう字じ。
4. （ショク）金属きんぞくや岩いわが雨風あめかぜにさらされボロボロになること。むしばまれて欠かけていくこと。「蝕しょく」の代用だいよう字じ。