You don't have a lot of experience in the Japanese language, but you need to understand the labels on the products and foods you buy? In this article, we will teach you how to translate and understand Japanese labels, their nutritional information, ingredients, etc.
To keep things simple, our partner Santana made a video showing the basics of food labels. You can watch the video, and then we have a long table with all the information for you to understand the labels.
Words on food labels
It may be necessary for you to have a basic knowledge of nihongo, we have prepared this table with all the vocabulary found on food labels.
| Japanese | hiragana | Romaji | Portuguese | Notes / Where to find |
| 種類別名称 | しゅるいべつめいしょう | shuruibetsumeishou | Product type, classification | At the beginning of a tag |
| 名称 | めいしょう | meishou | Name, product type | at the beginning of the tag |
| 種類別 | しゅるいべつ | shuruibetsu | Classification | – |
| 種類 | しゅるい | shurui | Type / Category | 種類 + 別 means rank |
| 商品名 | しょうひんめい | shouhinmei | Product's name | at the beginning of the tag |
| 品名 | ひんめい | hinmei | Product's name | at the beginning of the tag |
| 商品 | しょうひん | shouhin | goods / belonging | 商品 + 名 means product/brand |
| 原材料名 | げんざいりょうめい | genzairyoumei | Ingredients | Somewhere right after “名称” or “種類別” |
| 内容量 | ないようりょう | naiyouryou | The amount | Under 原材料名, but sometimes elsewhere |
| 内容 | ないよう | naiyou | Contents / substance |
内容+量 is the amount of that item, substantiates. |
| 量 | りょう | ryou | The amount | 内容+量 is the amount of that item, substantiates. |
| 賞味期限 | しょうみきげん | shoumikigen | Expiration date | |
| 消費期限 | しょうひきげん | shouhikigen | Expiration date | |
| 保存方法 | ほぞんほうほう | hozonhouhou | Preservation method / After opening | Listed after the above information. |
| 保存 | ほぞん | hozon | Preservation | |
| 方法 | ほうほう | houhou | Method | |
| 主要栄養成分 | しゅようえいようせいぶん | shuyoueiyouseibun | The main nutritional components | Listed at the top of the Nutrition Facts section |
| 栄養成分 | えいようせいぶん | eiyouseibun | Nutritional information | |
| 栄養成分表示 | えいようせいぶんひょうじ | eiyouseibunhyouji | Nutritional information | |
| 主要 | しゅよう | shuyou | main / main | |
| 栄養 | えいよう | hey | Nutrition | |
| 成分 | せいぶん | seibun | Ingredients | |
| 表示 | ひょうじ | hyouji | list / chart | |
| 産地 | さんち | sanchi | Production center / growth area / origin | Used to indicate origin of item. |
| 原産国名 | げんさんこくめい | gensankokumei | Country of origin | Found in imported products. |
| 国産 | こくさん | kokusan | Domestic product | Used in domestic products |
| 産 | さん | san | Origin | |
| 加工年月日 | かこうねんがっぴ | kakounengappi | Processing/manufacturing date | In seafood/meat/things that are cut |
| 養殖 | ようしょく | youshoku | Aquaculture / Fish | You will see it in fish and seafood. |
| 解凍 | かいとう | kaitou | Thawed or previously frozen | often seen in seafood or meat label |
| 加熱用 | かねつよう | kanetsuyou | Add heat (cooking before eating) | In seafood/meat |
| 刺身用 | さしみよう | sashimiyou | Can be used for sashimi | In seafood/meat |
| 生食用 | なましょくよう | namashokuyou | Can be eaten raw/fresh | In seafood/meat |
| 味付 | あじつけ | ajitsuke | tempered | In seafood/meat |
| 地鶏 | じどり | jidori | Open air | In chickens and poultry |
| 当たり | あたり | atari | “for” or “for” | 1箱 (100g) 当たり (100g per box) |
| 箱 | はこ | hako | Cashier | 1箱 (100g) 当たり |
| パック | – | pakku | Package | 1 パック (100ml) 当たり (100ml per pack) |
| 本 | ーほん, ーぼん, ーぽん | -hon, -bon, -pon | Counter for cylinders and long objects | 1本 (53g) 当たり |
| 個 | こ | ok | general accountant | 1箱 (100g) 当たり |
Vocabulary of Nutritional Information
The following information is listed in the “Nutrition Facts Table” or “Nutrition Facts”. It usually mentions calories and basic nutrients. Occasionally, various vitamins and minerals will be listed.
| Japanese | hiragana | Romaji | Portuguese | Grades |
| エネルギー | – | enerugii | energy or calories | |
| 熱量 | ねつりょう | netsuryou | calories | |
| たんぱく質 | たんぱくしつ | tanpakushitsu | Protein | Or “タンパク質” or “たん白質” |
| 炭水化物 | たんすいかぶつ | tansuikabutsu | Carbohydrates / Carbohydrates | |
| ナトリウム | – | natoriumu | Sodium | |
| 脂質 | ししつ | shishitsu | Fat | |
| カルシウム | – | karushiumu | Calcium | |
| 糖類 | とうるい | tourui | Sugar (Nutritionally speaking.) | Common Sugar is “砂糖” Satou |
| 鉄 | てつ | tetsu | Iron | |
| 亜鉛 | あえん | aye | Zinc | |
| 葉酸 | ようさん | yousan | Folic acid | |
| 食物繊維 | しょくもつせんい | shokumotsuseni | Dietary fiber | |
| ビタミン__ | bitamine ＿ | Vitamin __ | Vitamin (A, B, C, etc.) | |
| 食塩相当量 | しょくえんとうそうりょう | shokuentousouryou | the sodium chloride | amount of salt |
If you have an allergy to something, the products often tell you about some food allergens. You may notice this by looking directly at the ingredients, or some foods even have their own chart listing common allergenic ingredients like eggs and milk. Below I will leave a small table with vocabulary of some food allergens.
| Japanese | Romaji | Portuguese |
| 卵 (たまご) | tamago | Egg |
| 乳 (ちち or にゅう) | chichi or nyuu | milk/dairy |
| 小麦 (こむぎ) | komugi | Wheat |
| そば | under the | Soba (buckwheat) |
| 落花生 (らっかせい) | rakkasei | peanuts / walnuts |
| えび | ebi | Shrimp |
| かに | kani | Crab |
| あわび | arabi | abalone |
| いか | ika | Lula |
| いくら | ikura | salmon roe |
| オレンジ | orenji | Orange |
| キウイフルーツ | kiuifruutsu | Kiwi |
| 牛肉 (ぎゅうにく) | gyuuniku | Meat |
| くるみ | kurumi | Nuts |
| さけ | sake | sake |
| さば | sabbath | horsetail |
| 大豆 (だいず) | daizu | Soy |
| 鶏肉 (けいにく) | keiniku | Chicken |
| 豚肉 (ぶたにく) | butaniku | Pig |
| まつたけ | matsutake | mushrooms |
| もも | momo | Peach |
| やまいも | yamaimo | Yam |
| りんご | ringo | Litter |
| ゼラチン | zerachin | Gelatin |
| バナナ | banana | Banana |
I hope the tables have served and help everyone. Thank you for visiting our website! We appreciate the shares and comments.
source: survivingnjapan
