Japanese Food - Word List and Vocabulary

Today you will learn how to pronounce food and write fruits, vegetables, meat, drinks, food and sweets in Japanese [日本語]. In this organized list you will learn several words and increase your vocabulary.

The Japanese language is quite complex, and he borrows several words from other languages and writes it using katakana (writing used for foreign words). We recommend having some knowledge of the language.

Kudamono [果物] - Fruits in Japanese

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Japanese	Romanization	Translation
りんご	ringo	Apple
ぶどう	budou	grape
なし	nashi	Japanese pear
ようなし	younashi	Wait
かき	kaki	khaki
オレンジ	orenji	orange
レモン	Remon	lemon
ライム	raimu	lime
グレープフルーツ	gureepufuruutsu	grapefruit
バナナ	banana	banana
いちご	ichigo	Strawberry
ブルーベリー	buruuberii	blueberry
さくらんぼ	sakuranbo	cherry
メロン	meron	green melon (honeydew)
すいか	Suika	watermelon

Curiosities: Japanese apples are much larger than Western apples, while watermelons are quite small.

Yasai [やさい] - Vegetables in Japanese

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Japanese	Romaji	Translation
にんじん	ninjin	carrots
セロリ	serori	celery
レタス	Retasu	lettuce
キャベツ	kyabetsu	cabbage
トマト	tomato	tomato
ねぎ	negi	green onion (chives)
たまねぎ	Tamanegi	(Round) onion
ポテト	Poteto	potatoes
ブロッコリー	burokkorii	broccoli
ピーマン	piiman	chili, green pepper
まめ	mom	beans (in general)
ピース	piisu	peas
コーン	koon	corn

Japanese cuisine uses a lot of vegetables, including many that are unknown in the West. An example of a Japanese vegetable is the daikon, which is a giant white radish.

Japanese meat and fish

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Japanese	Romaji	Translation
牛肉	gyuuniku	beef
豚肉	butaniku	pork
ハム	hamu	Ham
鶏肉	toriniku	chicken
卵	tamago	egg
魚	sakana	fish
エビ	ebi	shrimp, lobster
カニ	kani	crab
たこ	tako	octopus

Tori “Bird” is used to refer to chicken in the context of food products, since turkey and other birds are rare to find in Japan. Likewise, niku “Meat” without other specifications generally refers to beef, although butaniku (pork) is cheaper and consumed in greater quantities.

Nyuuseihin [乳製品] - Japanese dairy products

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Japanese	Romaji	Translation
牛乳	gyuunyuu	milk
ミルク	miruku	milk
チーズ	chiizu	cheese
ヨーグルト	yooguruto	yogurt
アイスクリーム	aisukuriimu	ice cream

Dairy products are not used in traditional Japanese cuisine, but they can still be found in Japanese supermarkets and Western foods. Both gyuunyuu and miruku are common words for milk.

GRAINS AND Pasta in Japanese

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Japanese	Romaji	Translation
米	kome	rice (uncooked)
ご飯	gohan	cooked rice)
玄米	genmai	brown rice
うどん	udon	Wheat noodles
そうめん	soumen	Thin noodles (noodles)
そば	under the	Buckwheat noodles
ラーメン	Raamen	ramen (chinese noodles)
パン	Pan	bread, rolls, pies
菓子パン	kashipan	sweet bread, cakes
ピザ	pizza	Pizza

Other observations:

Japanese rice it is short-grain, unlike the long-grain rice normally used in the West. Short grain rice is a little sticky and clumps together, making it easier to eat with chopsticks, but it is not papulous.

Japanese noodles - especially only and under the, can be served hot or in a cold soup with a sauce. Macaroni is a popular dish of Japanese cuisine.

The real ramen is a style of Chinese noodle soup, which became popular in Japan and has a huge reputation. Pan in Japanese it can refer to any type of bread or pasta.

Nomimono [飲み物] - Drinks in Japanese

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Japanese	Romaji	Translation
水	mizu	Water
お茶	the tea	green tea in general
日本茶	nihoncha	Japanese green tea
麦茶	mugu	Japanese iced barley tea
紅茶	koucha	black tea (lit. “crimson tea”)
コーヒー	koohii	coffee
ジュース	juusu	juice
オレンジジュース	orenjijuusu	Orange juice
レモネード	remoneedo	Lemonade
ソーダ	sooda	soda pop
お酒	Osake	sake (rice) and alcohol in general
日本酒	nihonshu	Japanese Sake
ワイン	Wain	wine
ビール	biiru	beer

Japanese Seasonings and Condiments

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Japanese	Romaji	Translation
醤油	Shouyu	soy sauce
油	abura	oil
酢	su	vinegar
味醂	mirin	cooking rice wine
塩	shio	salt
コショウ	Koshou	chili
砂糖	satou	sugar
わさび	wasabi	wasabi (Japanese “horseradish”)
ごま	Gum	sesame seeds
バター	beat	butter
ケチャップ	kechappu	ketchup

The true wasabi it is a grated root. The green paste found outside Japan is a cheaper substitute made from horseradish and mustard, two spicy plants. Also read our article on Japanese spices.

Washoku [和食] - Japanese food in nihongo

Below we will see how to write traditional and Japanese foods. Also quickly understand what each Japanese food.

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Japanese	Romaji	Translation
寿司	Sushi	rice wrapped in seaweed
刺身	Sashimi	sliced raw fish
天ぷら	tenpura	breaded and fried vegetables and seafood
焼き鳥	yakitori	chicken in stick
焼肉	yakiniku	Japanese barbecue
焼き魚	yakizakana	grilled fish
焼きそば	yakisoba	fried noodles with vegetables and meat
すき焼き	Sukiyaki	traditional japanese stew
お好み焼き	okonomiyaki	japanese pancake
とんかつ	tonkatsu	fried pork chop
カレー	karee	curry usually served with rice
コロッケ	kurokke	fried kibble, usually of potato puree
餃子	Gyouza	Chinese pastry
味噌汁	misoshiru	miso soup (soy based)
漬物	tsukemono	Japanese pickle salad

Yaki [焼き] can mean fried, grilled, roasted and the like. The word comes from the verb yaku [焼く] which means to fry, grill and roast. Although not strictly native to Japan, Japanese curry is totally different from Indian curry.

Youshoku [養殖] - Western food in Japanese

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Kana	Romaji	Translation
スープ	suupu	soup (any type)
サラダ	healed	salad
サンドイッチ	sandoitchi	sandwich
ハンバーガー	hanbaagaa	hamburger
ホットドッグ	hottodoggu	hot dog
フライドポテト	furaidopoteto	french fries, french fries
フライドチキン	furaidochikin	fried chicken
ステーキ	suteeki	steak
スパゲッティー	supgettii	spaghetti

Note that despite similar names, Japanese versions of Western foods are usually adapted to Japanese tastes. We recommend reading our article on popular japan foods.

Japanese Snacks and Sweets

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Japanese	Romaji	Translation
チップ	chippu	French fries
ポップコーン	poppukoon	popcorn
クッキー	kukkii	cookies
ケーキ	keeki	cake
パ イ	dad	pie
アイスクリーム	aisukuriimu	ice cream
チョコレート	chokoreeto	chocolate
ゼリー	zerii	jelly (gelatin and similar desserts)
わがし	wagashi	traditional Japanese sweets (many are cookies)

Dessert is not traditionally served after meals in Japan (except fresh fruit), but sweet foods are eaten as snacks or the whole time lol.

I hope you enjoyed the article. Thanks to japaneseprofessor for sharing some information from the article. I hope you enjoyed the article. If you liked, share and leave your comments.