Lunch in Japanese: chuushoku, ohirugohan, or ohiru, explained

How to say “lunch”in Japanese

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

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “chuushoku”
• “Chuushoku” in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “lunch” in Japanese
• Definition and meaning of “ohirugohan”
• Components of “ohirugohan”
  • Example #2: how to use “ohirugohan”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “chuushoku”

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

• chuushoku – 昼食 (ちゅうしょく) : a noun meaning ‘lunch’ 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.

“Chuushoku” in kanji

Below are the kanji characters used in “chuushoku”.

• 昼 – a kanji character widely used to mean ‘noon’ or ‘daytime’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “hirune“.
• 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 “chuushoku” literally means ‘daytime 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 “chuushoku” through the detailed kanji check above.

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

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is used after “chuushoku” 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 this 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 put after a verb to make it polite. In this example, this is put after the conjugated verb, “tabe”, to make it sound polite.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb put 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 put after the verb phrase, “tabe mashi”, to make its past tense form.
• ka – か : a sentence-ending particle used to make a question. As its definition suggests, this is used at the end of the example sentence to make the question.

This is a typical usage of “chuushoku”. It sounds formal and polite, so Japanese native speakers tend to use it in formal situations. In the example, it is used as the commonly-used expression, “chuushoku wo tabe mashi ta ka”, which means ‘did you have lunch?’ in Japanese. Thanks to the politeness of “chuushoku”, this expression sounds formal and polite. Anyway, when we want to say “lunch” politely in Japanese, “chuushoku” is the best choice.

Definition and meaning of “ohirugohan”

Then, let me explain the definition and meaning of “ohirugohan”.

• ohirugohan – お昼ご飯 (おひるごはん) : a noun meaning ‘lunch’ in Japanese.

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

Components of “ohirugohan”

Grammatically “ohirugohan” can be broken down into the following three parts:

• o – お : a prefix making its following word polite.
• hiru – 昼 (ひる) : a noun meaning ‘noon’ or ‘daytime’ 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 three components, we can understand that “ohirugohan” is a kind of polite expression of ‘daytime meal’. And actually, it is. Japanese native speakers use this word to say “lunch” politely. Still, it is less formal and polite than “chuushoku”. So, it is suitable for the daily conversation level of politeness.

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

Example #2: how to use “ohirugohan”

This is the most widely-used Japanese expression for ‘did you have lunch?’, I think. It is neither impolite nor too much formal.

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

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

When we want to say “lunch” casually in Japanese, we can say “ohiru”. Grammatically, however, it can also be considered as the polite expression of “hiru”, not as the shortened form of “ohirugohan”. So, we need to be careful with its use. To avoid this kind of misunderstanding, its original expression, “ohirugohan”, would be much better, I think.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the three ways to say ‘lunch’ in Japanese: “chuushoku”, “ohirugohan”, and “ohiru”. Let me summarize them as follows.

• chuushoku – 昼食 (ちゅうしょく) : a noun meaning ‘lunch’ in Japanese. This sounds polite and formal, so is suitable for formal situations.
• ohirugohan – お昼ご飯 (おひるごはん) : a noun meaning ‘lunch’ in Japanese. This is literally the polite expression of ‘daytime meal’. Still, it is less formal than “chuushoku”, so suitable for the daily conversation level of politeness. This is the most widely-used Japanese word for ‘lunch’, I think.
• ohiru – お昼 (おひる) : the shortened form of “ohirugohan”. Grammatically, however, it can also be considered as the polite expression of ‘noon’ or ‘daytime’. So, we need to be careful with its use.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.