How to read a Japanese menu
You don't need to learn Japanese to decode a menu. About 30 kanji and patterns cover the vast majority of what you'll see. Learn to spot these and you can get through nearly any menu in 60 seconds.
Proteins — the main event
- 肉 (niku) — meat
- 牛肉 (gyuuniku) — beef · 豚肉 (butaniku) — pork · 鶏肉 (toriniku) — chicken
- 魚 (sakana) — fish · 鮭 (shake) — salmon · まぐろ (maguro) — tuna
- えび (ebi) — shrimp · たこ (tako) — octopus · いか (ika) — squid
- 卵 (tamago) — egg
Cooking methods
- 焼 (yaki) — grilled · 揚 (age) — deep-fried · 煮 (ni) — simmered
- 蒸 (mushi) — steamed · 生 (nama) — raw / draft (as in 生ビール draft beer)
- 刺身 (sashimi) — sliced raw fish
Menu structure words
- 定食 (teishoku) — set meal (main + rice + miso + pickles, great value)
- 丼 (don) — rice bowl · 麺 (men) — noodles
- 大盛り (oomori) — large portion · 小 (shou) / 大 (dai) — small / large
- おすすめ (osusume) — recommendation · 日替わり (higawari) — daily special
- 税込 (zeikomi) — tax included
The 60-second decode method
- Find the protein — scan for 肉・魚・鶏・豚・牛・えび. That tells you what you're eating.
- Find the method — 焼・揚げ・煮・刺身 tells you how it's cooked.
- Check the format — 丼 (bowl), 定食 (set), 麺 (noodles).
- Check the price — numbers are universal. ¥800–1,200 is a normal lunch.
Example: 鶏の唐揚げ定食 ¥900 → chicken (鶏） + deep-fried (唐揚げ） + set meal （定食） = fried chicken set for ¥900. You just read a menu.
When kanji isn't enough
Dish names (like 親子丼 or 肉じゃが） won't decode this way — they're vocabulary, not patterns. That's what dish explanations are for: see our dishes section for what each named dish actually is.