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Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
All articles · Page 69
Japanese Wagashi Sweets Names: Daifuku, Dango, Dorayaki and More
Wagashi (和菓子) are traditional Japanese sweets, most of them built from rice, sweet bean paste and sugar. The names you will meet first are daifuku, dango, dorayaki, taiyaki, yōkan, monaka, manjū and warabimochi.
8 min readJapanese Beer, Highball and Sour: Reading the Izakaya Drink Menu
On a Japanese drink menu, nama bīru (生ビール) is draft beer, haibōru (ハイボール) is whisky and soda, and a sawā (サワー) is shōchū with soda and fruit. The classic opening order is toriaezu nama, a draft beer to start.
8 min readDepachika: Japanese for Department Store Food Halls
A depachika (デパ地下) is the food hall in the basement of a Japanese department store: the word joins depāto (デパート), department store, and chika (地下), basement. You buy prepared dishes, bento, sweets and gifts at separate counters, often by weight.
8 min readEkiben Station Bento: What It Is and How to Buy One in Japanese
Ekiben (駅弁) is a boxed meal sold at railway stations in Japan, made to be eaten on the train and usually built around a local speciality. The word joins eki (駅), station, and bentō (弁当), boxed meal.
8 min readKissaten and the Morning Set: Japanese Coffee Shop Words
A kissaten (喫茶店) is an old-style Japanese coffee shop with table service, and mōningu (モーニング) is its breakfast deal: order a drink in the morning and toast and an egg come with it for little or nothing extra.
8 min readOrdering at Starbucks in Japanese: Sizes, Custom Orders and Phrases
To order at Starbucks in Japan, say whether you are staying or leaving, tennai de or mochikaeri de, then the drink, hot or iced, and the size: shōto, tōru, gurande or benti. Each answer is one word plus de.
7 min readTabehōdai and Nomihōdai: All-You-Can-Eat Rules and Phrases in Japan
Tabehōdai (食べ放題) means all-you-can-eat and nomihōdai (飲み放題) means all-you-can-drink: you choose a plan and order as much as you like until the clock runs out. The small print is always about the same things: time, leftovers, and the whole table choosing the same plan.
8 min readJapanese Hot Pot Guide: Nabe, Shabu-Shabu and Sukiyaki Menu Words
Nabe (鍋) is hot pot cooked at your table. Shabu-shabu is thin meat swished in plain broth and dipped in sauce, sukiyaki is beef simmered in sweet soy sauce and dipped in raw egg, and most other names on the menu simply tell you what goes into the pot.
8 min readJapanese Donburi Names: How to Order Gyūdon and Other Rice Bowls
A donburi (丼) is a bowl of rice with one topping, and the menu name is the topping plus don: gyūdon is beef, oyakodon is chicken and egg, katsudon is pork cutlet. At a counter chain you need only three more things: a size, eat in or take away, and perhaps tsuyudaku.
7 min readKaiseki Course Menu Words: Reading a Japanese Multi-Course Dinner
Kaiseki is a Japanese multi-course meal of small seasonal dishes, served one at a time in a set order. The menu lists each course by cooking method, so once you know about ten words, from sakizuke (先付) to mizugashi (水菓子), you can follow the whole dinner.
8 min readOden Ingredients and How to Order: Daikon, Egg, Konnyaku and More
Oden (おでん) is a pot of ingredients simmered slowly in a light soy-flavoured broth, and you order it one item at a time. Name what you want and add kudasai: Daikon to tamago o kudasai, daikon and an egg, please.
7 min readYakitori Menu Names: Tare or Shio, Cuts and How to Count Skewers
A yakitori menu is a list of chicken parts, each grilled on a skewer, and the first question staff ask is Tare to shio, dochira ni nasaimasu ka: sweet soy glaze or salt? Learn about ten part names and the counter hon (本), and you can order anything on the board.
7 min readPractical guides
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