In today’s vocabulary lesson you will learn how to say “breakfast” in Japanese. I will teach you the 5 most commonly used words, their meaning, English translation, and how to write them in hiragana and kanji. Let’s start with the two basic words “asagohan” and “choushoku“.
The two most commonly used words to say breakfast in Japanese are “asagohan” (朝ご飯) and “choushoku” (朝食). Asagohan is the more casual word and frequently used in everyday life and daily conversations, while choushoku, the more formal sounding word, might be more common in official situations.
Down below, you will not only learn the other 3 common ways to say “breakfast” in Japanese but also the words for “lunch” and “dinner“. You will also find other useful Japanese phrases and sentences such as “I had breakfast“, “I don’t eat breakfast“, and “What do you eat for breakfast?“.
How to Say “Breakfast” in Japanese
- asagohan – 朝ご飯
- choushoku – 朝食
- asameshi – 朝飯
- mooningu – モーニング
- burekkufaasuto – ブレックファースト
1. Asagohan – Casual Way to Say “Breakfast” in Japanese
The word asagohan (朝ご飯) means “breakfast” in Japanese and is by far the most commonly used word in daily life. In kanji “asagohan” can be written as 朝ご飯, 朝御飯, or 朝ごはん, while in hiragana it is written as あさごはん.
Kanji: 朝ご飯、朝御飯、朝ごはん
Hiragana: あさごはん
It consists of the word for morning, which is asa (朝), and the word for “meal” or “cooked rice”, which is gohan (ご飯). So literally translated it means “morning meal“.
asagohan
朝ご飯
breakfast
Sometimes in informal situations, just the shortened version asa (朝) is used to say breakfast in Japanese. However, it sounds extremely casual.
asa
朝
breakfast
2. Choushoku – Formal Way to Say “Breakfast” in Japanese
Choushoku (朝食) is another common but more formal word for “breakfast” in Japanese. It consists of the kanji character for morning (朝) and the kanji character for food or meal (食). In hiragana, it is written as ちょうしょく.
Kanji: 朝食
Hiragana: ちょうしょく
Since the word choushoku (朝食) sounds rather formal and polite it is mostly used in formal situations. Use this word instead of asagohan (朝ご飯) whenever you have to talk more respectfully.
choushoku
朝食
breakfast
3. Asameshi – Slang Word for “Breakfast” in Japanese
A more casual word for breakfast is asameshi (朝飯). This word is mostly used by men since it sounds rather masculine. It can also be considered a slang word and might sound a bit rude or impudent. Meshi (飯) is a masculine expression for “meal” or “cooked rice” that is used instead of “gohan”.
Kanji: 朝飯
Hiragana: あさめし
Since this is a very casual expression and a rather rough way to refer to breakfast in Japanese you should only use this among close friends. On top of that women should only use this word when they want to sound tomboyish or masculine.
asameshi
朝飯
breakfast
4. Mooningu – Word for “Breakfast” or “Breakfast Sets”
The word mooningu (モーニング) literally translates as “morning“, but is frequently used to refer to cheap and light breakfast sets or specials at Japanese coffee shops and restaurants. This is especially popular in Nagoya city and the area around it.
Katakana: モーニング
A typical mooningu setto (モーニングセット, morning set) includes toast, egg, and a drink, coffee or tea. Since this is an English loanword it can’t be written in kanji. Also, the last “u” is silent, so the word’s pronunciation is closer to “moning”.
mooningu
モーニング
morning
breakfast set
breakfast special
5. Burekkufaasuto – English Loanword Meaning “Breakfast”
Burekkufaasuto (ブレックファースト) is another English loanword that means “breakfast”. However, it is actually not that commonly used in spoken Japanese. As with most foreign words, it sounds a bit funky, but you might see it written on menus or signboards.
burekkufaasuto
ブレックファースト
breakfast
How to Say Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner in Japanese
- asagohan – 朝ご飯
- hirugohan – 昼ご飯
- bangohan – 晩ご飯
The most common Japanese words for breakfast are asagohan (朝ご飯) and choushoku (朝食). Lunch in Japanese is hirugohan (昼ご飯) or chuushoku (昼食), and dinner in Japanese is bangohan (晩ご飯) or yuushoku (夕食).
Advanced Japanese Phrases Related to “Breakfast”
- I eat breakfast – Asagohan o taberu
- I eat toast for breakfast – Asagohan ni toosuto o taberu
- Did you eat breakfast? – Asagohan o tabeta?
- I ate breakfast – Asagohan o tabeta
- I ate cereal for breakfast – Asagohan ni shiriaru o tabeta
- I don’t eat breakfast – Asagohan o tabenai
I eat breakfast
The sentence “I eat breakfast” is “Asagohan o tabemasu” (朝ご飯を食べます) in Japanese. Asagohan (朝ご飯) means breakfast, o (を) is the object particle, and tabemasu (食べます) is the polite verb form used to say “to eat“. You can use this sentence to say that you usually eat breakfast.
Asagohan o tabemasu.
朝ご飯を食べます。
I eat breakfast (polite)
In informal situations, you can use the more casual taberu (食べる) instead of the polite verb form tabemasu (食べます).
Asagohan o taberu.
朝ご飯を食べる。
I eat breakfast (casual)
If you want to say “I’m eating breakfast (right now)“, you can say “Asagohan o tabeteiru” (朝ご飯を食べている) or in polite Japanese “Asagohan o tabeteimasu” (朝ご飯を食べています).
Asagohan o tabeteimasu.
朝ご飯を食べています。
I’m eating breakfast (now, polite)
Asagohan o tabeteiru.
朝ご飯を食べている。
I’m eating breakfast (now, casual)
I eat Toast for Breakfast
“I eat toast for breakfast” is “Asagohan ni toosuto o taberu” (朝ご飯にトーストを食べる). In formal situations, you should use tabemasu (食べます) instead of taberu (食べる). The particle ni (に) translates as “for” and toosuto (トースト) means “toast” in Japanese.
Asagohan ni toosuto o taberu.
朝ご飯にトーストを食べる。
I eat toast for breakfast (casual)Asagohan ni toosuto o tabemasu.
朝ご飯にトーストを食べます。
I eat toast for breakfast (formal)
Of course, you can also exchange the word toosuto (トースト) with other words such as bread, which is pan (パン), or cereal, which is shiriaru (シリアル).
Asagohan ni pan o taberu.
朝ご飯にパンを食べる。
I eat bread for breakfast.Asagohan ni shiriaru o taberu.
朝ご飯にシリアルを食べる。
I eat cereal for breakfast (casual)
Did you eat breakfast?
The question “Did you eat breakfast?” is “Asagohan o tabeta?” (朝ご飯を食べた？) in Japanese. Tabeta (食べた) translates as “ate” or in this case “did you eat” and is the past tense form of the verb taberu (食べる), which means “to eat”.
Asagohan o tabeta?
朝ご飯を食べた？
Did you eat breakfast? (casual)
In formal situations, you should rather use the polite “Asagohan o tabemashita ka?” (朝ご飯を食べましたか？). Tabemashita (食べました) also translates as “ate” or in this case “did you eat“, but is the polite form of tabeta (食べた).
Asagohan o tabemashita ka?
朝ご飯を食べましたか？
Did you eat breakfast? (formal)
I Ate/Had Breakfast
“Asagohan o tabeta” (朝ご飯を食べた) means “I ate breakfast” or “I had breakfast“. You can use this sentence if you want to tell someone that you ate breakfast this morning or if you want to say that you already had breakfast. You can also use the politer tabemashita (食べました) instead of tabeta (食べた).
Asagohan o tabeta.
朝ご飯を食べた。
I ate breakfast.Mou asagohan o tabeta.
もう朝ご飯を食べた。
I already ate breakfast.
I Ate Cereal for Breakfast
“Asagohan ni shiriaru o tabeta” (朝ご飯にシリアルを食べた) is the Japanese translation of “I ate cereal for breakfast“. The first part “asagohan ni” (朝ご飯に) means “for breakfast“. After that you can use “…o tabeta” (〇〇を食べた) in order to say “I ate …“.
Asagohan ni shiriaru o tabeta.
朝ご飯にシリアルを食べた。
I ate cereal for breakfast.
Here is how you would say “I ate bread for breakfast” and “I had toast for breakfast“:
Asagohan ni pan o tabeta.
朝ご飯にパンを食べた。
I ate bread for breakfast.Asagohan ni toosuto o tabeta.
朝ご飯にトーストを食べた。
I had toast for breakfast.
I Don’t Eat Breakfast
If you usually don’t eat breakfast in the morning you can express this in Japanese by saying “Asagohan o tabemasen” (朝ご飯を食べません). Or in more casual Japanese “Asagohan o tabenai” (朝ご飯を食べない).
Asagohan o tabemasen.
朝ご飯を食べません。
I don’t eat breakfast (polite)Asagohan o tabenai.
朝ご飯を食べない。
I don’t eat breakfast (casual)