昼食
chūshoku[t͡ɕɨːɕo̞kɯ̟]
The English phrase 'midday meal' is translated into Japanese as 昼食 (chūshoku).
昼食 refers to the meal eaten in the middle of the day.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 昼食 is composed of the characters 昼, meaning 'midday' or 'noon' and 食, meaning 'meal' or 'food'.
Which one should you use?
昼食 is a formal or technical term used for lunch, whereas the common, everyday word used in casual conversation is 昼ごはん (hirugohan).
How do you pronounce it?
chūshoku
Did you know?
- While 昼食 means 'lunch', the word 弁当 (bento) describes a specific culture of portable midday meals that are often meticulously arranged to be visually beautiful as well as tasty.
- In Japanese corporate culture, the 'lunch break' is often a social bonding time where coworkers eat together, unlike the solitary 'desk lunch' common in many English speaking offices.
- In many Japanese offices, it is common to hear people use the English loanword ランチ (ranchi) instead of the formal 昼食 or even the common 昼ごはん.
Examples in context
- Watashi wa chuushoku ni resutoran ni ikimasu (私は昼食にレストランに行きます)I go to a restaurant for lunch.
- Kare wa ima hirugohan o tabete imasu (彼は今昼ごはんを食べています)He is currently having lunch.
- Ashita wa doko de chuushoku o tabemasu ka? (明日はどこで昼食を食べますか)Where will you have lunch tomorrow?
- Hirugohan wa nanika tabetai (昼ごはんは何か食べたい)I want to eat something for lunch.
- Hirugohan ni sandoicchi o tabenai? (昼ごはんにサンドイッチを食べない？)Won't you have a sandwich for lunch?
- 今日の昼食はカレーです。kyō no chūshoku wa karee desu.Today's midday meal is curry.
- もっと豪華な昼食が食べたいです。motto gōkana chūshoku ga tabetai desu.I want to eat a more luxurious midday meal.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are talking in the office during a break.
- 陽太 Yota結衣さんは、もう昼食を食べましたか。Yui-san wa, mō chūshoku o tabemashita ka.Yui, have you already eaten your midday meal?
- 結衣 Yuiいいえ、まだ食べていません。Iie, mada tabete imasen.No, I haven't eaten yet.
- 陽太 Yota一緒に昼食を食べに行きましょう。Issho ni chūshoku o tabe ni ikimashō.Let's go eat a midday meal together.
- 結衣 Yuiはい、そうしましょう！Hai, sō shimashō!Yes, let's do that!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 昼食, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
