Japanese food has an extensive vocabulary that appears on menus, in recipes, and in conversation about food. This glossary covers the terms you're most likely to encounter — organized by category so you can find what you're looking for quickly.
This is a practical reference, not an academic one. The focus is on terms useful in actual restaurant, home cooking, and food media contexts.
Cooking Methods (調理法, Chōrihō)
Yaki (焼き): Grilled or pan-cooked. Yakimono = grilled things. Appears in: yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), teriyaki (luster-grill), yakisoba (fried noodles), yakiniku (grilled meat).
Age (揚げ): Deep-fried. Agemono = fried things. Appears in: karaage (Japanese fried chicken), agedashi tofu (fried tofu in dashi), tempura (battered deep-fry), katsu (breaded cutlet).
Ni (煮): Simmered or braised. Nimono = simmered things. Appears in: nikujaga (meat and potato stew), buri daikon (yellowtail with daikon), simmered vegetables generally.
Mu (蒸): Steamed. Mushimono = steamed things. Appears in: chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), sakamushi (sake-steamed shellfish).
Itame (炒め): Stir-fried. Itamemono = stir-fried things. Appears in: yasai itame (stir-fried vegetables), nira tamago itame (chive and egg stir-fry).
Su (酢 + 物): Vinegared. Sunomono = vinegared things. Often light salads or preparations with rice vinegar.
Kara (から): Dry. Used in karaage (from Chinese cooking influence).
Tataki (叩き): "Beaten" or "chopped" — refers either to lightly seared fish with the interior raw (tosa tataki) or to a preparation where ingredients are chopped/minced.
Dish Structure and Meal Terms
Gohan (ご飯): Cooked rice. Also the general word for "meal" in Japanese.
Ichiju sansai (一汁三菜): "One soup, three sides" — the traditional Japanese meal structure. One bowl of rice, one soup, three side dishes. Still the basis of home cooking organization.
Okazu (おかず): Side dishes — anything eaten alongside rice.
Shokuji (食事): A meal or dinner.
Teishoku (定食): Set meal. A fixed combination of main dish, rice, soup, and sometimes pickles. The classic Japanese lunch format at casual restaurants.
Kaiseki (懐石/会席): Japan's formal multi-course cuisine. Two different characters: 懐石 (tea ceremony origin) and 会席 (banquet style).
Omakase (おまかせ): "I leave it to you." The format where the chef selects everything for you.
Ryōtei (料亭): High-end traditional Japanese restaurant, often in a private room setting.
Izakaya (居酒屋): Japanese pub. Food-centered drinking establishment.
Kissaten (喫茶店): Old-style Japanese café serving food. Often serves omurice, pasta, sandwiches.
Ingredients (食材, Shokuzai)
Seasoning Basics
Shoyu (醤油): Soy sauce. Koikuchi shoyu (dark soy sauce, most common), usukuchi shoyu (lighter color, more salt, Kansai style), tamari (wheat-free, richer).
Miso (味噌): Fermented soybean paste. Shiro miso (white, mild, sweet), aka miso (red, longer fermented, more intense), awase miso (blended).
Mirin (みりん): Sweet rice wine for cooking. Not consumed directly. Provides sweetness and glaze.
Sake (酒): Rice wine. Both for cooking and drinking. Cooking sake is cheaper and slightly salted.
Su/Osu (酢): Vinegar. Komezu or kome-su = rice vinegar (preferred for Japanese cooking).
Dashi (だし): Japanese stock — the base of almost everything. Made from:
- Kombu (昆布): dried kelp, provides glutamate umami
- Katsuobushi (鰹節): dried, fermented, smoked skipjack tuna flakes, provides inosinate umami
- Niboshi (煮干し): small dried anchovies, for more assertive dashi
- Shiitake (椎茸): dried mushrooms, for vegetarian dashi
Ichiban dashi (一番だし): First-extraction dashi — clearest, most delicate, for soups and high-end cooking.
Niban dashi (二番だし): Second-extraction from the same ingredients — for everyday cooking.
Ponzu (ポン酢): Citrus-soy sauce. Yuzu (柚子, Japanese citrus) is classic, but also sudachi and kabosu.
Produce
Daikon (大根): Giant white radish. Used raw (grated = daikon oroshi), simmered, pickled (takuan).
Gobo (牛蒡): Burdock root. Earthy, slightly bitter. Used in kinpira and soups.
Shiso (紫蘇): Perilla. Green shiso (aojiso) used in sashimi and as herb; red shiso in pickles.
Nira (ニラ): Japanese chives (Allium tuberosum). More garlicky than Western chives.
Renkon (蓮根): Lotus root. Cross-section shows distinctive hole pattern. Crunchy when stir-fried.
Kabocha (カボチャ): Japanese pumpkin/squash. Dense, sweet, dark green skin.
Myōga (茗荷): Japanese ginger buds. Mild, floral, slightly bitter. Used raw as garnish.
Yuzu (柚子): Japanese citrus. Not for eating; the zest and juice used for flavor.
Preserved and Fermented
Natto (納豆): Fermented whole soybeans with Bacillus subtilis. Sticky, pungent, intensely nutritious.
Tsukemono (漬物): Pickled vegetables. Broad category: asazuke (quick-pickled), nukaduke (rice bran pickle), umeboshi (pickled plum).
Umeboshi (梅干し): Pickled ume fruit (often called plum, technically apricot-adjacent). Intensely salty and sour.
Takuan (沢庵): Daikon pickled in rice bran, bright yellow, crunchy. Named for the monk who popularized it.
Ikura (イクラ): Salmon roe (from Russian ikra). Marinated in soy and sake.
Seafood
Maguro (鮪): Tuna. Akami (lean), chūtoro (medium fatty), ōtoro (very fatty belly).
Sake (鮭): Salmon.
Hamachi (ハマチ): Young yellowtail. Buri is mature yellowtail.
Hirame (ヒラメ): Flounder/flatfish.
Hotate (ホタテ): Scallop.
Uni (ウニ): Sea urchin roe.
Ebi (エビ): Shrimp/prawn. Ama ebi = sweet shrimp.
Ika (イカ): Squid.
Tako (タコ): Octopus.
Cooking Techniques (Specialized)
Tangzhong (湯種, Yudane/Tangzhong): Pre-cooked flour paste used in shokupan bread to increase moisture retention.
Katsuobushi (削り): The process and product of shaving dried bonito.
Katsuo dashi: Dashi made from katsuobushi.
Suribachi and surikogi (すり鉢/すりこぎ): Japanese mortar and pestle with ridged surface for grinding sesame seeds and tofu.
Mushimono technique: Steam-based cooking requiring lid sealing and low/medium heat for delicate ingredients like chawanmushi.
Teriyaki technique: Glazing protein with 1:1:1 soy:mirin:sake during cooking, not as marinade.
Meal Courses and Kaiseki Terms
Sakizuke (先付): Opening bite, like amuse-bouche.
Hassun (八寸): Seasonal showcase course. One item from the sea, one from the mountain.
Mukōzuke (向付): Sashimi or vinegared dish.
Takiawase (炊き合わせ): Separately simmered ingredients served together.
Yakimono (焼き物): Grilled protein course.
Mushimono (蒸し物): Steamed course.
Gohan (ご飯): Rice course at the end of the savory sequence.
Kō-no-mono (香の物): Pickles, served with the rice.
Suimono (吸い物): Clear soup, closing the savory sequence.
Mizugashi (水菓子): Dessert — traditionally fresh fruit, sometimes wagashi sweets.
Restaurant and Ordering Vocabulary
Irasshaimase (いらっしゃいませ): "Welcome" — what you hear when entering any Japanese establishment.
Otoshi (お通し): Cover charge that arrives automatically as a small dish. Standard in izakaya; optional but common in many restaurants.
Osusume (おすすめ): Recommendation. "Osusume wa nan desu ka?" = "What do you recommend?"
Omakase (おまかせ): Leave it to the chef.
Tabe-hodai (食べ放題): All-you-can-eat.
Nomi-hodai (飲み放題): All-you-can-drink.
Gochisōsama deshita (ごちそうさまでした): "It was a feast" — said at the end of a meal to express gratitude. The pair to itadakimasu (said before eating).
Shio (塩): Salt. When given a choice between shio or tare at yakitori, shio = salt seasoning.
Tare (たれ): Sauce. At yakitori = sweet soy glaze. General term for dipping or seasoning sauce.
Mentsuyu (めんつゆ): Noodle dipping sauce/broth. Used for cold soba, udon dipping.
Kaeshi (返し): The concentrated soy-mirin base used to make tsuyu.
This vocabulary covers the most useful 10% of Japanese food language — the terms that appear most frequently in restaurant settings, recipes, and food media. Fluency in this vocabulary makes navigating Japanese food culture significantly more accessible.
Related reading: How to Read a Japanese Restaurant Menu | Japanese Pantry Essentials | What Is Kaiseki
The full recipes live in the book.
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