N5 Vocabulary: Food & drink — 24 words with memory tricks

2026-07-29 · Memoro

Food is the tastiest topic to learn because you use it every day. This lesson gathers 20+ N5 words for meals, meat & fish, vegetables & fruit, drinks and seasonings — each with a memory hook, plus a few kanji-combining rules to lock in the whole set.

御飯

ごはん

gohan

rice (cooked); meal

💡 飯 (meal/rice). "gohan" means both cooked rice and a meal.

御飯を食べましょう。Let's eat a meal.

朝御飯

あさごはん

asagohan

breakfast

💡 朝 (morning) + 御飯 (meal) → breakfast. asa = morning.

朝御飯は何を食べましたか？What did you eat for breakfast?

昼御飯

ひるごはん

hirugohan

lunch, midday meal

💡 昼 (midday) + 御飯 → lunch. hiru = noon.

昼御飯を食べに行きましょう。Let's go eat lunch.

晩御飯

ばんごはん

bangohan

dinner, evening meal

💡 晩 (evening) + 御飯 → dinner. ban = evening.

晩御飯は何ですか？What is for dinner?

お弁当

おべんとう

obentou

a boxed lunch

💡 "o-bento" — a packed lunch box; picture the compartment tray.

おべんとうを作りました。I made a lunch box.

料理

りょうり

ryōri

cooking; cuisine

💡 "ryōri" — cooking / a dish. 料 (materials) + 理 (arrange) → preparing food.

料理を作るのが好きです。I like cooking.

食べ物

たべもの

tabemono

food

💡 食 (eat, as in 食べる taberu) + 物 (thing) → a thing to eat = food.

好きな食べ物は何ですか？What is your favorite food?

肉

にく

niku

meat

💡 "niku" = meat. This base kanji is reused in every meat word.

肉をたくさん食べました。I ate a lot of meat.

牛肉

ぎゅうにく

gyuuniku

beef

💡 牛 (cow — a horned head) + 肉 (meat) → beef.

牛肉を食べます。I eat beef.

豚肉

ぶたにく

butaniku

pork

💡 豚 (pig) + 肉 → pork. buta = pig.

豚肉を食べます。I eat pork.

鶏肉

とりにく

toriniku

chicken meat

💡 鶏 (chicken) + 肉 → chicken meat. tori = bird/chicken.

鶏肉を食べます。I eat chicken.

魚

さかな

sakana

fish

💡 The kanji 魚 draws a fish: head, body, and 4 dots for the tail/fins.

魚が泳いでいます。Fish are swimming.

卵

たまご

tamago

egg

💡 "tamago" = egg. The two dots inside look like two yolks.

卵を二個食べました。I ate two eggs.

野菜

やさい

yasai

vegetable

💡 野 (field) + 菜 (greens) → vegetables grown in the field.

野菜をたくさん食べます。I eat a lot of vegetables.

果物

くだもの

kudamono

fruit

💡 果 (fruit/result) + 物 (thing) → fruit.

果物が好きです。I like fruit.

パン

ぱん

pan

bread

💡 Katakana = loanword. "pan" from Portuguese pão → bread.

パンを食べます。I eat bread.

飲み物

のみもの

nomimono

drink, beverage

💡 飲 (drink, as in 飲む nomu) + 物 (thing) → a beverage.

冷たい飲み物が欲しいです。I want a cold drink.

お茶

おちゃ

ocha

(green) tea

💡 茶 (tea). "ocha" = (green) tea.

お茶を飲みませんか？Would you like some tea?

牛乳

ぎゅうにゅう

gyuunyuu

milk

💡 牛 (cow) + 乳 (milk) → cow's milk.

牛乳を飲みます。I drink milk.

コーヒー

kōhī

coffee

💡 Katakana loanword "kōhī" from coffee.

コーヒーを一杯ください。A cup of coffee, please.

お酒

おさけ

osake

sake; alcohol

💡 酒 (alcohol). "osake" = sake / alcohol.

お酒を飲みすぎました。I drank too much sake.

塩

しお

shio

salt

💡 "shio" = salt. Contains 土 (earth) — salt from the earth/sea.

塩が足りません。There is not enough salt.

砂糖

さとう

satō

sugar

💡 砂 (sand) + 糖 (sugar) → granulated sugar. "satō".

砂糖を入れますか？Do you take sugar?

醤油

しょうゆ

shōyu

soy sauce

💡 醤 (sauce/paste) + 油 (oil) → soy sauce. "shōyu".

醤油を取ってください。Please pass the soy sauce.

Memory tricks

Three meals = 3 time kanji + 御飯: 朝御飯 (breakfast), 昼御飯 (lunch), 晩御飯 (dinner). Learn 朝/昼/晩 once and you get three words. 御飯 (gohan) means both "rice" and "meal".
〜肉 = meat: animal + 肉. 牛肉 beef, 豚肉 pork, 鶏肉 chicken.
Katakana = Western loanword: パン (bread, from Portuguese), コーヒー (coffee), カレー (curry), バター (butter). See katakana → guess it's imported.
Group the seasonings: 塩 salt, 砂糖 sugar, 醤油 soy sauce, 茶 tea, 酒 alcohol.
Review with spaced repetition: drop the set into Memoro, a few minutes a day, and it sticks within a week.

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