You don’t have much experience in the Japanese language, but do you need to understand the labels of 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.
For simplicity, 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 that you have a basic knowledge of nihongo, we have prepared this table with all the vocabulary found on food labels.
| Japanese | Hiragana | Romaji | English | 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 label |
| 種類別 | しゅるいべつ | shuruibetsu | Classification | - |
| 種類 | しゅるい | shurui | Type / Category | 種類 + 別 means classification |
| 商品名 | しょうひんめい | shouhinmei | Product’s name | At the beginning of the label |
| 品名 | ひんめい | hinmei | Product’s name | At the beginning of the label |
| 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 | Amount | Under 原材料名, but sometimes elsewhere |
| 内容 | ないよう | naiyou | Content / substance |
内容 + 量 is the quantity of that item, substance. |
| 量 | りょう | ryou | Amount | 内容 + 量 is the quantity of that item, substance. |
| 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 open | 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 information 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 | eiyou | 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 the item's origin. |
| 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 | Source | |
| 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 this in fish and seafood |
| 解凍 | かいとう | kaitou | Defrosted or previously frozen | Often seen on seafood or meat label |
| 加熱用 | かねつよう | kanetsuyou | Add heat (cook 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 | Seasoned | 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 cylindrical and long objects | 1本 (53g) 当たり |
| 個 | こ | ko | 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, several vitamins and minerals will be listed.
| Japanese | Hiragana | Romaji | English | 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.) | Common sugar is “砂糖” Satou |
| 鉄 | てつ | tetsu | Iron | |
| 亜鉛 | あえん | aen | 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__ | bitamin ＿ | Vitamin __ | Vitamin (A, B, C, etc.) | |
| 食塩相当量 | しょくえんとうそうりょう | shokuentousouryou | Sodium chloride | amount of salt |
If you are allergic to anything, the products usually tell you about some food allergens. You can see this by looking directly at the ingredients, or some foods even have their own table stating common allergen ingredients like eggs and milk. Below I will leave a small table with vocabulary of some food allergens.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| 卵 (たまご) | tamago | Egg |
| 乳 (ちち or にゅう) | chichi or nyuu | Milk / dairy products |
| 小麦 (こむぎ) | komugi | Wheat |
| そば | under the | Soba (buckwheat) |
| 落花生 (らっかせい) | rakkasei | Peanuts / Nuts |
| えび | ebi | Shrimp |
| かに | kani | Crab |
| あわび | arabi | abalone |
| いか | ika | Squid |
| いくら | ikura | Salmon roe |
| オレンジ | orenji | Orange |
| キウイフルーツ | kiuifuruutsu | Kiwi |
| 牛肉 (ぎゅうにく) | gyuuniku | Beef |
| くるみ | kurumi | Nuts |
| さけ | sake | Sake |
| さば | saba | 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 | Apple |
| ゼラチン | zerachin | Gelatine |
| 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
