Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 偏食 | henshoku | [hẽ̞ɰ̃ɕo̞kɯ̟] (narrow) |
| 好き嫌いが多い | sukikirai ga ōi |
The term 偏食 is a noun used to describe a person's eating habits, often implying a nutritional imbalance or a clinical/behavioral habit. You can also use the phrase 好き嫌いが多い to describe someone who has many likes and dislikes, which is a common way to describe children who are fussy about certain foods. If you want to describe someone who is picky about food or has strong opinions about what they eat, you can use 食べ物にうるさい.
What does it mean word for word?
The noun 偏食 is composed of the kanji 偏 (bias/deviation) and 食 (eating/food), which literally means "biased eating" or "unbalanced diet". The phrase 好き嫌いが多い literally means "likes and dislikes are many".
Which one should you use?
偏食 is a noun that often carries a sense of nutritional imbalance or a specific behavioral habit. In contrast, 好き嫌いが多い is a descriptive phrase used more commonly in daily conversation to describe a person's general preferences.
How do you pronounce it?
henshoku
Did you know?
- While English speakers might say someone is 'fussy', a Japanese person might use こだわり (kodawari) to describe a picky eater if they want to frame the habit as a positive, high-standard obsession.
- If you use 食べ物にうるさい (tabemono ni urusai) to describe someone, you are literally saying they are 'noisy' or 'clamorous' about food.
- The kanji 偏 in 偏食 is the same character used in the word 偏見 (henken), which means 'prejudice' or 'bias'.
Examples in context
- トムは子供の時、偏食だった。Tom was a picky eater when he was a kid.This sentence shows how to use 偏食 to describe someone's past eating habits.Tatoeba #8669794 by bunbuku, translation #6716312 by CK
- 「彼は料理の好みが偏る人で、食べるものに厳しいです。」He is a person with biased food preferences and is quite strict about what he eats.
- 「彼女は選り好みする人で、新しい食べ物に挑戦することが苦手です。」She is someone who is very selective and finds it challenging to try new foods.
- 「彼は好き嫌いが多くて料理を選ぶのに時間がかかるんだよね。」He has many likes and dislikes, so it takes time for him to choose his meals, you know.
- 「彼は食べ物にうるさいから、一緒にレストランに行くときにいつも気を使います。」He is picky about food, so I always have to be considerate when we go to restaurants together.
- 彼は偏食なので、栄養が心配です。Kare wa henshoku nano de, eiyou ga shinpai desu.He is a picky eater, so I am worried about his nutrition.
- 偏食を直すのは、とても大変だ。Henshoku o naosu no wa, totemo taihen da.Fixing a picky eating habit is very difficult.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Himari are talking about their childhood eating habits.
- 健太 Kenta陽葵ちゃんは、子供の頃に偏食だった？Himari-chan wa, kodomo no koro ni henshoku datta?Himari, were you a picky eater when you were a child?
- 陽葵 Himariうん、野菜が全然食べられなかったよ。Un, yasai ga zenzen taberarenakatta yo.Yes, I couldn't eat vegetables at all.
- 健太 Kenta僕も偏食だったから、よくわかるよ。Boku mo henshoku datta kara, yoku wakaru yo.I was a picky eater too, so I understand well.
- 陽葵 Himari健太さんも、そうだったんだね。Kenta-san mo, sou datta n da ne.So you were too, Kenta.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “picky eater” translations and entries 偏食, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
