What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the polite prefix o, hiru (noon/daytime) and yasumi (rest/holiday/break).
Which one should you use?
In Japanese, there are several ways to express lunch-related concepts depending on the nuance. While お昼休み emphasizes the break period, 昼食時間 is a formal way to say lunch time used in office situations or when speaking to superiors. If you want to refer specifically to the break time during the day, 昼休憩 is used. For the meal itself, 昼ごはん is used in daily conversations among friends and ランチ is a borrowed word from English used for lunch.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
You can make the phrase more casual and common in everyday conversation among peers by dropping the polite prefix o, resulting in 昼休み. For highly formal situations, such as in an office or when speaking to superiors, use 昼食時間 or 昼休憩. For informal daily conversation, you can use 昼ごはん to mean lunch or the loanword ランチ.
How do you pronounce it?
ohiruyasumi
Did you know?
- Many Japanese employees spend their お昼休み taking a short nap, a practice known as 'inemuri', which is often seen as a sign of hard work.
- In many Japanese schools, the お昼休み includes a duty where students serve the food to their classmates and clean up the room together.
- While English speakers use 'lunch' to mean the meal, the word ランチ (ranchi) in Japanese is often used specifically to describe a special, set-menu meal at a restaurant.
Examples in context
- ごめんなさい、今は昼食時間ですので、後でお伺いします。Excuse me, it is currently lunch time, so I will come back later.
- 11時半から12時半まで昼休憩です。Lunch break is from 11:30 to 12:30.
- おい、昼ごはんに何が食べたい？Hey, what do you want to eat for lunch?
- ランチの時間は何時からですか？What time does lunch start?
- お昼ごはん何にする？What are you having for lunch?
- お母さんが美味しいひるめしを作ってくれました。Mom made a delicious lunch.
- お昼休みは何時からですか？ohiruyasumi wa nanji kara desu ka?What time does lunch time start?
- お昼休みは一時間です。ohiruyasumi wa ichijikan desu.Lunch time is one hour.
- お昼休みにお弁当を食べます。ohiruyasumi ni obento o tabemasu.I will eat my lunch box during lunch time.
Example conversation
Two coworkers are talking in the office.
- 美咲 Misaki蓮さん、今日のお昼休みはいつですか？Ren-san, kyou no ohiruyasumi wa itsu desu ka?Ren, when is lunch time today?
- 蓮 Ren十二時からですよ、美咲さん。Juuniji kara desu yo, Misaki-san.It's from twelve o'clock, Misaki.
- 美咲 Misaki一緒にお弁当を食べませんか？Issho ni obento o tabemasen ka?Would you like to eat lunch boxes together?
- 蓮 Renいいですね、ぜひ！Ii desu ne, zehi!That sounds good, definitely!
