Breakfast in Japanese: choushoku, asagohan, or asa, explained

How to say “breakfast” in Japanese

There are multiple ways to say “breakfast” in Japanese. In this blog post, however, I will focus on three of the most widely-used ones: “choushoku”, “asagohan”, and “asa”. I will explain these three words in detail and how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to say “breakfast” properly in Japanese. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “choushoku”
• “Choushoku” in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “breakfast” in Japanese
• Definition and meaning of “asagohan”
• Components of “asagohan”
  • Example #2: how to use “asagohan”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “choushoku”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “choushoku”.

• choushoku – 朝食 (ちょうしょく) : a noun meaning ‘breakfast’ in Japanese.

Its definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

“Choushoku” in kanji

Below are the kanji characters used in “choushoku”.

• 朝 : a kanji character used to mean ‘morning’ in Japanese.
• 食 : a kanji character widely used to express the act of eating. This kanji can also be found in other words like “tabemono“.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “choushoku” literally means ‘morning eat’. This kanji concept is not completely in line with the meaning, but still very close, I think.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “choushoku” through the detailed kanji check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “choushoku” through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “breakfast” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is used after “watashi” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is used after “choushoku” to make the object word in the sentence.
• tabe – 食べ (たべ) : one conjugation of the verb, “taberu”, which means ‘to eat’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• mashi – まし : one conjugation of the auxiliary verb, “masu”, which is used after a verb to make it polite. In the example, this is used after “tabe” to make it sound polite.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, auxiliary verb, or phrase to make its past tense form. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after the verb phrase, “tabe mashi”, to make its past tense form.

This is a typical usage of “choushoku”. It sounds formal and polite, so Japanese native speakers tend to use it in formal situations. When we want to say “breakfast” politely in Japanese, this word would be the best choice.

Definition and meaning of “asagohan”

Next, then, let me explain the definition and meaning of “asagohan”.

• asagohan – 朝ご飯 (あさごはん) : a noun meaning ‘breakfast’ in Japanese.

To understand this word more clearly, let me explain its components in detail, one by one.

Components of “asagohan”

Grammatically “asagohan” can be broken down into the following two parts:

• asa – 朝 (あさ) : a noun meaning ‘morning’ in Japanese.
• gohan – ご飯 (ごはん) : a noun meaning ‘cooked rice’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, this can also mean ‘meal’ in general. In this case, it works to mean ‘meal’.

From these two components, we can understand that “asagohan” literally means ‘morning meal’. Japanese native speakers use this word to say “breakfast” politely. Still, it sounds less formal and polite than “choushoku”. So, it is suitable for the daily conversation level of politeness.

To understand how to use “asagohan”, let me paraphrase the last example as follows.

Example #2: how to use “asagohan”

This is more widely-used than the last one, I think. It is neither impolite nor too much formal, so suitable for various situations.

In more casual situations, Japanese people tend to use the shortened form of “asagohan”. “Asa” is it. Let me paraphrase the above example sentence with this shortened form.

Normally, shortened forms sound more casual than their original expressions. “Asa” does as well. So, this example sentence sounds more casual than the last one.

When we want to say “breakfast” casually in Japanese, we can say “asa”. Grammatically, however, it can also be considered as a noun meaning ‘morning’, not as the shortened form of “asagohan”. So, we need to be careful with its use. To avoid this kind of misunderstanding, its original expression, “asagohan”, would be much better, I think.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the three ways to say “breakfast” in Japanese: “choushoku”, “asagohan”, and “asa”. Let me summarize them as follows.

• choushoku – 朝食 (ちょうしょく) : a noun meaning ‘breakfast’ in Japanese. This sounds polite and formal, so is suitable for formal situations.
• asagohan – 朝ご飯 (あさごはん) : a noun meaning ‘breakfast’ in Japanese. This consists of the two parts: “asa” and “gohan”. The first one means ‘morning’; the second means ‘meal’. So, this word literally means ‘morning meal’. It is neither impolite nor too much formal, so suitable for various situations.
• asa – 朝 (あさ) : the shortened form of “asagohan”. Grammatically, however, this can also be considered as a noun meaning ‘morning’. So, we need to be careful with its use.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.