How to Say "Dinner Time" in Japanese

夕食の時間

yūshoku no jikan

In Japanese, 'dinner time' is expressed as 夕食の時間 (yūshoku no jikan).

夕食の時間 refers to the time of day when the evening meal is eaten.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of 夕食 (yūshoku), meaning 'dinner', the particle の (no), meaning 'of' and 時間 (jikan), meaning 'time'.

While 夕食 (yūshoku) specifically refers to the evening meal, it is often contrasted with 朝食 (chōshoku) for breakfast and 昼食 (chūshoku) for lunch.

夕食の時間 is a formal way to express dinner time. In very casual conversations, the katakana phrase ディナータイム (Dinaa taimu) may also be used.

yūshoku no jikan

While 夕食 is the formal term, many Japanese families use 晩ごはん (ban-gohan) for 'dinner'. The word ごはん literally means 'cooked rice', reflecting the central role of rice in the traditional Japanese evening meal.
In traditional Japanese dining, it is customary to say いただきます (itadakimasu) right before starting the meal. This phrase expresses gratitude to the plants, animals and people involved in preparing the food.
The character 夕 (yū) in 夕食 refers to 'evening' or 'sunset'. In ancient Japanese poetry, this specific time of day was often used as a symbol for longing or loneliness.

夕食の時間ですよ。
It's dinner time.
This sentence is useful for announcing that it is dinner time.
Tatoeba #79098 by bunbuku, translation #2249074 by CK
今日のご飯の時間は何時ですか？ (Kyou no gohan no jikan wa nanji desu ka?)
What time is dinner today?
ご飯の時間に遅れてしまいました (Gohan no jikan ni okurete shimaimashita)
I'm sorry for being late for dinner time.
今晩は何時に晩ごはんを食べますか？ (Konban wa nanji ni ban gohan o tabemasu ka?)
What time will you have dinner tonight?
そろそろ夕食の時間ですね。
Sorosoro yuushoku no jikan desu ne.
It is almost dinner time.
夕食の時間はいつですか？
Yuushoku no jikan wa itsu desu ka?
When is dinner time?
1 more sentence on Tatoeba

Yui is in the living room and Hiroto calls her from the kitchen.

大翔 Hiroto

結衣、もうすぐ夕食の時間だよ。
Yui, mōsugu yūshoku no jikan da yo.
Yui, it's almost dinner time.
結衣 Yui

わかった。すぐに行くね。
Wakatta. Sugu ni iku ne.
Okay. I'll be there soon.
大翔 Hiroto

今日はいい料理を作ったよ。
Kyō wa ii ryōri o tsukutta yo.
I cooked a great meal today.
結衣 Yui

楽しみ！ありがとう、大翔。
Tanoshimi! Arigatō, Hiroto.
I'm looking forward to it! Thanks, Hiroto.

Sources

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