夕食
yūshoku[jɯ̟ːɕo̞kɯ̟]
The English phrase "dinner" is translated into Japanese as 夕食 (yūshoku).
夕食 is a noun used to refer to the evening meal.
Meaning: evening meal (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 夕食 is composed of the characters 夕 (evening) and 食 (meal/food), literally meaning "evening meal".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
夕食 is a formal term often used in written contexts, news or polite announcements. For more formal situations, one might use 晩餐. In contrast, 夕飯 is a commonly used term for dinner in informal settings and 晩ごはん is a conversational way to express the meal.
How do you pronounce it?
yūshoku
Did you know?
- The character for 'evening' in 夕食 is a pictograph that originally represented a crescent moon appearing in the sky.
- Before starting 夕食, it is customary to say いただきます (itadakimasu), which literally means 'I humbly receive' rather than 'bon appétit'.
- In traditional Japanese dining, the dinner table does not have a fixed 'head', and seating is often determined by the distance from the entrance to show social hierarchy.
Examples in context
- 夕食ができたよ。Dinner is ready.This is useful for saying that dinner is ready using 夕食.Tatoeba #79116 by bunbuku, translation #39682 by CK
- 夕食が楽しみだ。I'm looking forward to our dinner.This is useful for expressing that you are looking forward to dinner using 夕食.Tatoeba #11256169 by sh5555, translation #11257619 by DJ_Saidez
- 夕食は何時ですか。What time is dinner?This is useful for asking what time dinner is using 夕食.Tatoeba #79087 by bunbuku, translation #24573 by CK
- 今日の晩ごはんは何にしましょうか？What should we have for dinner today?
- 晩ごはんをくださいPlease give me dinner
- 157 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is talking at home in the evening.
- 結衣 Yui今日の夕食は何にしますか？Kyō no yūshoku wa nan ni shimasu ka?What shall we have for dinner today?
- 健太 Kentaカレーにしましょう。Karē ni shimashō.Let's have curry.
- 結衣 Yuiいいですね。健太さんのリクエストです。Ii desu ne. Kenta-san no rikuesuto desu.That sounds good. It's your request, Kenta.
- 健太 Kenta楽しみです。Tanoshimi desu.I'm looking forward to it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dinner” translations and entries 夕食, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
