Say the ingredient, not the category
The single most useful adjustment is to stop naming categories and start naming ingredients. Vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free are all abstractions that a busy kitchen has to translate into ingredients, and the translation is where things go wrong. Naming the ingredient removes that step.
The core sentence is simple: the item, then ga taberaremasen, cannot eat, or wa tabemasen, do not eat. Use taberaremasen for an allergy or a medical restriction and tabemasen for a choice, since the first is stronger and signals that this is not flexible.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| えびとかにが食べられません。アレルギーです。 | Ebi to kani ga taberaremasen. Arerugii desu. | I cannot eat prawn or crab. It is an allergy. |
| 卵アレルギーがあります。 | Tamago arerugii ga arimasu. | I have an egg allergy. |
| 肉は食べません。 | Niku wa tabemasen. | I do not eat meat. |
| 豚肉は食べられません。 | Butaniku wa taberaremasen. | I cannot eat pork. |
| 小麦が入っていないものはありますか。 | Komugi ga haitte inai mono wa arimasu ka. | Do you have anything without wheat? |
| 少しでも入っていると駄目です。 | Sukoshi demo haitte iru to dame desu. | Even a small amount is a problem. |
The ingredients hiding in everything
Japanese cooking builds flavour from a small set of bases, and those bases turn up in dishes that look like they should not contain them. Knowing the five below and asking about them by name will catch the overwhelming majority of problems.
| Ingredient | Japanese | Where it hides |
|---|---|---|
| Bonito stock | かつおだし katsuo dashi | Miso soup, simmered vegetables, sauces, tamagoyaki, most broths |
| Fish stock in general | だし dashi | Almost any savoury Japanese dish |
| Soy sauce | しょうゆ shōyu | Contains wheat; used in nearly everything |
| Pork | 豚肉 butaniku | Ramen broth, gyoza, chāhan, many stir-fries |
| Chicken stock | 鶏がら torigara | Ramen, fried rice, Chinese-style dishes |
| Sake and mirin | 酒・みりん sake, mirin | Simmered dishes, sauces, marinades |
| Bonito flakes | かつお節 katsuobushi | Sprinkled on okonomiyaki, tofu, salads |
| Shrimp and crab | えび・かに ebi, kani | Mandatory allergen labels; common in mixed fried dishes |
Dashi is the one to ask about first. It is present far more often than a menu suggests and it is the usual reason a vegetable dish is not vegetarian.
The questions that actually check
Rather than asking whether a dish is suitable, ask what is in it. Staff can answer a question about ingredients from knowledge; a question about whether something meets your dietary framework requires them to understand the framework.
Three questions cover most situations: what stock is used, whether the sauce contains the thing you are avoiding, and whether it can be made without it. The third is often answered yes, particularly if you ask before ordering rather than after.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| これは何のだしを使っていますか。 | Kore wa nan no dashi o tsukatte imasu ka. | What kind of stock is used in this? |
| かつおだしは入っていますか。 | Katsuo dashi wa haitte imasu ka. | Does it contain bonito stock? |
| このソースに小麦は入っていますか。 | Kono sōsu ni komugi wa haitte imasu ka. | Does this sauce contain wheat? |
| 肉を抜いてもらえますか。 | Niku o nuite moraemasu ka. | Could you leave the meat out? |
| かつお節なしでお願いできますか。 | Katsuobushi nashi de onegai dekimasu ka. | Could I have it without bonito flakes? |
| 野菜だけで作れますか。 | Yasai dake de tsukuremasu ka. | Could it be made with only vegetables? |
| アレルギー表はありますか。 | Arerugii-hyō wa arimasu ka. | Do you have an allergen chart? |
Vegetarian, vegan and the dashi problem
Bejitarian and biigan are both understood words, but the concepts do not map cleanly onto Japanese cooking, where fish stock is a background ingredient rather than a meat. A vegetarian who orders vegetable tempura, miso soup and simmered vegetables may have eaten fish stock three times.
The reliable approach is to state the restriction and then immediately name dashi. Shōjin ryōri, Buddhist temple cuisine, is genuinely plant-based and the word is a useful reference point, as is dōbutsusei, of animal origin.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ベジタリアンです。肉も魚も食べません。 | Bejitarian desu. Niku mo sakana mo tabemasen. | I am vegetarian. I eat neither meat nor fish. |
| かつおだしも駄目なんです。 | Katsuo dashi mo dame na n desu. | Bonito stock is also a problem for me. |
| 昆布だしなら大丈夫です。 | Konbu dashi nara daijōbu desu. | Kelp stock is fine. |
| 動物性のものを使っていない料理はありますか。 | Dōbutsusei no mono o tsukatte inai ryōri wa arimasu ka. | Do you have dishes with no animal-derived ingredients? |
| 卵と乳製品も食べません。 | Tamago to nyūseihin mo tabemasen. | I do not eat eggs or dairy either. |
| 精進料理のようなものはありますか。 | Shōjin ryōri no yō na mono wa arimasu ka. | Do you have anything like temple cuisine? |
Konbu dashi, made from kelp, is the plant-based stock and naming it gives the kitchen a usable alternative rather than only a prohibition.
Halal, kosher and religious restrictions
Pork and alcohol are the two to name, and alcohol is the one that surprises people, because cooking sake and mirin are in a great many simmered dishes and sauces. Asking about sake and mirin specifically catches what a general question about alcohol will not.
Halal-certified restaurants exist in larger cities and are usually signed as such. Outside those, the practical approach is the same as for any restriction: name the ingredients, ask about the sauce and the stock, and accept a clear no when a kitchen cannot verify.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 宗教上の理由で、豚肉が食べられません。 | Shūkyō-jō no riyū de, butaniku ga taberaremasen. | For religious reasons, I cannot eat pork. |
| お酒も駄目です。料理酒も含めてです。 | Osake mo dame desu. Ryōrishu mo fukumete desu. | Alcohol is also not possible, including cooking sake. |
| みりんは使っていますか。 | Mirin wa tsukatte imasu ka. | Do you use mirin? |
| ハラル対応のメニューはありますか。 | Hararu taiō no menyū wa arimasu ka. | Do you have a halal-friendly menu? |
| 同じ油で揚げていますか。 | Onaji abura de agete imasu ka. | Is it fried in the same oil? |
| 鶏肉なら大丈夫です。 | Toriniku nara daijōbu desu. | Chicken is fine. |
Confirming, and knowing when to walk away
The last step is a confirmation, and it should be specific. Repeating the ingredient rather than asking whether it is fine gives staff something concrete to check against. Kore, kani wa haitte imasen ka is a better final question than daijōbu desu ka.
It is equally important to accept a no. A small restaurant that says it cannot guarantee is being honest rather than unhelpful, and pressing further puts them in a bad position. Asking at the door before you sit down makes leaving straightforward.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 確認ですが、これにかには入っていませんか。 | Kakunin desu ga, kore ni kani wa haitte imasen ka. | Just to confirm, there is no crab in this? |
| 厨房で確認していただけますか。 | Chūbō de kakunin shite itadakemasu ka. | Could you check with the kitchen? |
| 難しければ、大丈夫です。ありがとうございます。 | Muzukashikereba, daijōbu desu. Arigatō gozaimasu. | If it is difficult, that is fine. Thank you. |
| 入る前に伺ってもいいですか。 | Hairu mae ni ukagatte mo ii desu ka. | May I ask before coming in? |
| 対応が難しいとのことでしたら、また今度にします。 | Taiō ga muzukashii to no koto deshitara, mata kondo ni shimasu. | If it is difficult to accommodate, I will come another time. |
The card that solves most of this
A written card in Japanese is the highest-value preparation you can make, and it works regardless of your speaking level. It should name the ingredients rather than the category, state the severity, and be short enough to read at a glance in a busy restaurant.
Keep it as a photo on your phone as well as on paper. Handing it over at the door, before being seated, is the point at which it does the most good.
- List ingredients in Japanese, not categories: かつおだし、豚肉、小麦
- State the severity: アレルギーです or 少しでも駄目です
- Include what you can eat, so the kitchen has somewhere to go
- Keep it to about four lines; a page will not be read
- Show it at the door, before being seated
- Keep a photo on your phone as a backup