ご飯
gohan
The Japanese word ご飯 (gohan) refers to cooked rice or a general meal.
While ご飯 literally refers to cooked rice, it is commonly used to represent any complete meal consisting of various dishes.
Which one should you use?
ご飯 is the standard term, but you may encounter メシ for an informal context or お食事 for a more formal and polite way to refer to a meal.
How do you pronounce it?
gohan
When do people say it?
In Japanese culture, rice is the fundamental staple of a meal, which is why the word for rice and the word for a meal are the same.
Did you know?
- While ごはん (gohan) means cooked rice, the word for raw, uncooked rice is 米 (kome), meaning the language uses completely different words based on the state of the grain.
- The term ごはん (gohan) is so central to the concept of eating that the Japanese word for 'breakfast' is 朝ごはん (asa-gohan), which literally translates to 'morning rice'.
- While 'gohan' is the standard, the informal version メシ (meshi) is so masculine and rough that using it in a polite company or a formal setting would be considered quite jarring.
Examples in context
- 田中さん、一緒にごはんを食べませんか？Tanaka, would you like to have a meal together?
- 友達とメシを食べに行くよ！I'm going to have a meal with my friend!
- 美味しいご飯を食べました。Oishii gohan o tabemashita.I ate a delicious meal.
- 炊きたてのご飯が大好きです。Takitate no gohan ga daisuki desu.I love freshly cooked rice.
- もうすぐご飯の時間ですよ。Mousugu gohan no jikan desu yo.It is almost time for a meal.
Example conversation
Ren and Misaki are talking about dinner at home.
- 美咲 Misaki蓮、もうご飯にする？Ren, mō gohan ni suru?Ren, do you want to eat now?
- 蓮 Renうん、お腹が空いたよ。Un, onaka ga suita yo.Yeah, I'm hungry.
- 美咲 Misaki今日のご飯はカレーだよ。Kyō no gohan wa karē da yo.Today's meal is curry.
- 蓮 Renやった！楽しみだな。Yatta! Tanoshimi da na.Yay! I'm looking forward to it.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ご飯, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
