Japanese Food Kanji List (100+ Menu Kanji with Meaning and Reading)
When traveling or living in Japan, one of the most common challenges is reading food menus written in kanji. Many restaurants, especially local and traditional ones, use kanji without furigana, making it difficult for beginners to understand what they are ordering.
However, the good news is that food-related kanji are highly repetitive. By learning the most common kanji used in menus, you can quickly recognize dishes, ingredients, and cooking styles.
This page provides a curated list of over 100 Japanese food kanji that frequently appear in restaurants, street food stalls, and food packaging. Each kanji includes its reading in hiragana with romaji, English meaning, and Indonesian translation.
To make learning easier, we include a search feature so you can quickly find specific kanji, and a one-click copy function for easy use in notes or translation apps.
If you want to travel more confidently in Japan, mastering these food kanji will make your experience much smoother and more enjoyable.
| Kanji | Reading | English | Indonesian |
|---|---|---|---|
้ฃ | ใใใ (shoku) | eat / food | makanan |
้ฃฒ | ใใ (in) | drink | minum |
่ | ใซใ (niku) | meat | daging |
้ญ | ใใใช (sakana) | fish | ikan |
็ฑณ | ใใ (kome) | rice | beras |
้ฃฏ | ใฏใ (han) | meal/rice | nasi |
้่ | ใใใ (yasai) | vegetable | sayur |
ๅต | ใใพใ (tamago) | egg | telur |
็่ | ใใ ใใซใ (gyuuniku) | beef | daging sapi |
่ฑ่ | ใถใใซใ (butaniku) | pork | daging babi |
้ถ่ | ใจใใซใ (toriniku) | chicken | daging ayam |
็ผใ | ใใ (yaku) | grill | memanggang |
ๆใใ | ใใใ (ageru) | deep fry | menggoreng |
็
ฎใ | ใซใ (niru) | boil | merebus |
็ | ใชใพ (nama) | raw | mentah |
ๅฏฟๅธ | ใใ (sushi) | sushi | sushi |
ๅบ่บซ | ใใใฟ (sashimi) | sashimi | sashimi |
ใฉใผใกใณ | ใใผใใ (raamen) | ramen | ramen |
ใใฉใ | ใใฉใ (udon) | udon | udon |
ใใฐ | ใใฐ (soba) | soba | soba |
ๅฎ้ฃ | ใฆใใใใ (teishoku) | set meal | paket makanan |
ไธผ | ใฉใ (don) | rice bowl | nasi mangkuk |
ๅณ | ใใ (aji) | taste | rasa |
็ใ | ใใพใ (amai) | sweet | manis |
่พใ | ใใใ (karai) | spicy | pedas |
่ฆใ | ใซใใ (nigai) | bitter | pahit |
้
ธใฃใฑใ | ใใฃใฑใ (suppai) | sour | asam |
็ฑใ | ใใคใ (atsui) | hot (food) | panas |
ๅทใใ | ใคใใใ (tsumetai) | cold | dingin |
ๆฑ | ใใ (shiru) | soup | sup |
ๅณๅๆฑ | ใฟใใใ (misoshiru) | miso soup | sup miso |
็ผ่ | ใใใซใ (yakiniku) | grilled meat | daging panggang |
็ผ้ญ | ใใใใใช (yakizakana) | grilled fish | ikan bakar |
ๅคฉใทใ | ใฆใใทใ (tempura) | tempura | tempura |
ไธฒ็ผใ | ใใใใ (kushiyaki) | skewered grill | sate Jepang |
ๅผๅฝ | ในใใจใ (bentou) | bento | bekal |
ๆ้ฃ | ใกใใใใใ (choushoku) | breakfast | sarapan |
ๆผ้ฃ | ใกใ ใใใใ (chuushoku) | lunch | makan siang |
ๅค้ฃ | ใใใใใ (yuushoku) | dinner | makan malam |
้ฃฒใฟ็ฉ | ใฎใฟใใฎ (nomimono) | drink | minuman |
ๆฐด | ใฟใ (mizu) | water | air |
่ถ | ใกใ (cha) | tea | teh |
็ไนณ | ใใ ใใซใ ใ (gyuunyuu) | milk | susu |
ๆฐท | ใใใ (koori) | ice | es |
็ ็ณ | ใใจใ (satou) | sugar | gula |
ๅกฉ | ใใ (shio) | salt | garam |
้คๆฒน | ใใใใ (shouyu) | soy sauce | kecap |
้
ข | ใ (su) | vinegar | cuka |
ๆฒน | ใใถใ (abura) | oil | minyak |
ๅฐ้บฆ | ใใใ (komugi) | wheat | gandum |
็ฒ | ใใช (kona) | flour | tepung |
่ๅญ | ใใ (kashi) | sweets | kue |
ๅ่ๅญ | ใใใ (wagashi) | Japanese sweets | kue Jepang |
ๆ็ฉ | ใใ ใใฎ (kudamono) | fruit | buah |
ๆๆช | ใใใ (ringo) | apple | apel |
่ๆ | ใฟใใ (mikan) | mandarin orange | jeruk |
ๆตท่ | ใใณ (ebi) | shrimp | udang |
่น | ใใซ (kani) | crab | kepiting |
่ฒ | ใใ (kai) | shellfish | kerang |
้ฎญ | ใใ (sake) | salmon | salmon |
้ฏ | ใใฐ (saba) | mackerel | ikan makarel |
้ฏ | ใใ (tai) | sea bream | ikan kakap |
่ฑ | ใพใ (mame) | beans | kacang |
่ฑ่
| ใจใใต (toufu) | tofu | tahu |
็ด่ฑ | ใชใฃใจใ (nattou) | fermented soybeans | natto |
ๆตท่ | ใฎใ (nori) | seaweed | rumput laut |
ๆๅธ | ใใใถ (konbu) | kelp | rumput laut kering |
ๆผฌ็ฉ | ใคใใใฎ (tsukemono) | pickles | acar |
ๅณไปใ | ใใใคใ (ajitsuke) | seasoning | bumbu |
่ชฟๅณๆ | ใกใใใฟใใใ (choumiryou) | seasoning | bumbu masak |
ๆ็ | ใใใใ (ryouri) | cuisine | masakan |
ๅ่ | ใใใใ (zensai) | appetizer | hidangan pembuka |
ไธป่ | ใใ ใใ (shusai) | main dish | hidangan utama |
ๅฏ่ | ใตใใใ (fukusai) | side dish | hidangan pendamping |
็ผใ็ฉ | ใใใใฎ (yakimono) | grilled dish | hidangan panggang |
ๆใ็ฉ | ใใใใฎ (agemono) | fried food | gorengan |
็
ฎ็ฉ | ใซใใฎ (nimono) | simmered dish | masakan rebus |
่ธใ็ฉ | ใใใใฎ (mushimono) | steamed dish | kukus |
ๅท่ | ใใใใ (reisai) | cold dish | hidangan dingin |
ไธผ็ฉ | ใฉใใถใใใฎ (donburimono) | rice bowl dish | hidangan nasi mangkuk |
้บบ้ก | ใใใใ (menrui) | noodles | mi |
ๆฑ็ฉ | ใใใใฎ (shirumono) | soup dish | sup |
็ๅณ | ใใพใฟ (amami) | sweet taste | rasa manis |
้ฃฒๆ | ใใใใใ (inryou) | beverage | minuman |
้
| ใใ (sake) | alcohol | minuman alkohol |
ๆฅๆฌ้
| ใซใปใใใ (nihonshu) | Japanese sake | sake Jepang |
็ผ้
| ใใใใกใ ใ (shouchuu) | shochu | shochu |
ๆณจๆ | ใกใ ใใใ (chuumon) | order | pesan |
่ฟฝๅ | ใคใใ (tsuika) | additional order | tambah pesanan |
ใใใใ | ใใใใ (osusume) | recommended | rekomendasi |
ๅฎ็ช | ใฆใใฐใ (teiban) | standard menu | menu favorit |
้ๅฎ | ใใใฆใ (gentei) | limited | terbatas |
ๆฐไฝ | ใใใใ (shinsaku) | new item | menu baru |
ไบบๆฐ | ใซใใ (ninki) | popular | populer |
ๅคง็ | ใใใใ (oomori) | large portion | porsi besar |
ๅฐ็ | ใใใ (komori) | small portion | porsi kecil |
็กๆ่ฟฝๅ | ใใใใใคใใ (muryou tsuika) | free refill | tambah gratis |
ๅฃฒๅ | ใใใใ (urikire) | sold out | habis |
ๆบๅไธญ | ใใ ใใณใกใ ใ (junbi chuu) | preparing | sedang disiapkan |
Tips for Reading Japanese Menus
When reading Japanese menus, try to identify key kanji such as meat types, cooking methods, and common dishes. Even recognizing just a few kanji can help you guess the meaning of a dish.
Look for familiar patterns. For example, kanji like ็ผ (grilled), ๆ (fried), and ็ (raw) appear frequently and can give you clues about how the food is prepared.
To improve faster, combine kanji learning with real-world practice. Try looking at Japanese menus online and identifying kanji you have learned.
For more learning resources, explore our kanji for travel, everyday kanji, and most common kanji list.