• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Japanese Particles Master

particles for perfection

  • Home
  • grammar
  • particles
  • nouns
  • verbs
  • adjectives
  • adverbs
  • translation
  • Author
Home » nouns » Nomimono is the Japanese word for ‘beverage’, explained

October 16, 2019 By Masaki Mori

Nomimono is the Japanese word for ‘beverage’, explained

What does “nomimono” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “nomimono” often to mean ‘beverage’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “nomimono” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

  • Definition and meanings of “nomimono”
  • What does “nomimono” literally mean in Japanese?
    • Example #1: how to say “beverages” in Japanese
    • Example #2: another usage of “nomimono”
  • Summary

Definition and meanings of “nomimono”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “nomimono”.

  • nomimono – 飲み物 (のみもの) : a noun meaning ‘beverage’, ‘drink’, or ‘something to drink’ in general in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.

The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its grammatical components in detail, one by one.

What does “nomimono” literally mean in Japanese?

“Nomimono” consists of the following two components:

  • nomi – 飲み (のみ) : one conjugation of the verb, “nomu“, which means ‘to drink’ in Japanese.
  • mono – 物 (もの) : a noun meaning ‘thing’, ‘stuff’, or such in Japanese. Depending on the word used together, this can also mean ‘something’ or ‘anything’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “tabemono” and “kudamono“.

From these two components, we can understand that “nomimono” literally means ‘things to drink’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is very close to the actual meanings.

nomimono in japanese

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

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “nomimono” together with its grammatical components. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

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

kanojo wa amai nomimono ga suki desu – 彼女は甘い飲み物が好きです (かのじょはあまいのみものがすきです)

She likes sweet beverages.

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

  • kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
  • wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
  • amai – 甘い (あまい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘sweet’ in Japanese.
  • ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “amai nomimono” to make the object in the sentence.
  • suki – 好き (すき) : the stem part of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, this is used to mean ‘to like’.
  • desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “suki” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “nomimono”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “amai nomimono”, which means ‘sweet beverages’ in Japanese.

Example #2: another usage of “nomimono”

watashi wa ano mise de nomimono wo kai tai – 私はあの店で飲み物を買いたい (わたしはあのみせでのみものをかいたい)

I want to buy a drink at that shop.

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

  • watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
  • ano – あの : a determiner used before a noun which refers to something not close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “mise” to say “that shop” in Japanese.
  • mise – 店 (みせ) : a noun meaning ‘shop’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
  • de – で : a case particle used to say where someone does something. In the example, this is used after “ano mise” to say where the speaker wants to buy a drink.
  • wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “nomimono” to make the object in the sentence.
  • kai – 買い (かい) : one conjugation of the verb, “kau“, which means ‘to buy’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
  • tai – たい : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make its desire form. In the example, this is used after “kai” to make its desire form, “kai tai”, which means ‘to want to buy’ in Japanese.

This is another typical usage of “nomimono”. When we want to say “drink”, “beverage”, or “something to drink” in Japanese, this noun is always a very good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “nomimono” in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

  • nomimono – 飲み物 (のみもの) : a noun meaning ‘beverage’, ‘drink’, or ‘something to drink’ in general in Japanese. This can also work as plural. This consists of “nomi” and “mono” which mean ‘to drink’ and ‘things’ respectively in Japanese. So, this noun literally means ‘things to drink’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is very close to the actual meanings.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Filed Under: nouns

Recent Posts

  • Komorebi is the Japanese word for ‘sunlight through leaves’
  • Nikkouyoku is the Japanese word for ‘sunbathing’, explained
  • Shinrinyoku is the Japanese word for ‘forest bathing’, explained
  • Hatsutaiken is the Japanese word for ‘first experience’
  • Hatsuyuki is the Japanese word for ‘first snow of the season’

Primary Sidebar

Written by Masaki Mori

Engineer and industrial translator for more than ten years. I teach Japanese to spread the Japanese culture. I always try to explain every single new word so that Japanese learners can understand the correct meanings of example sentences. Read More…

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Learn more words by kanji groups

Kanji for bad Kanji for beauty Kanji for big Kanji for cat Kanji for child Kanji for day Kanji for devil Kanji for eye Kanji for fire Kanji for god Kanji for ground Kanji for hand Kanji for he Kanji for heart Kanji for heaven Kanji for mood Kanji for moon Kanji for mouth Kanji for night Kanji for now Kanji for one of a pair Kanji for person Kanji for rain Kanji for time Kanji for tree Kanji for week Kanji for what Kanji for woman Kanji for year

Check recent posts

  • Komorebi is the Japanese word for ‘sunlight through leaves’
  • Nikkouyoku is the Japanese word for ‘sunbathing’, explained
  • Shinrinyoku is the Japanese word for ‘forest bathing’, explained
  • Hatsutaiken is the Japanese word for ‘first experience’
  • Hatsuyuki is the Japanese word for ‘first snow of the season’

Are you still looking for something?

Footer

Pages

  • Author

Categories

  • adjectives
  • adverbs
  • grammar
  • nouns
  • particles
  • translation
  • verbs
  • vocabulary

Written by Masaki Mori

Engineer and industrial translator for more than ten years. I teach Japanese to spread the Japanese culture. Read More…

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Feed

  • RSS

Copyright © 2017–2025 Japanese Particles Master All Rights Reserved.