Meals at home
Collocations, Stage 2chunk 2 of 24Food & drink
A meal at home from start to finish: cooking it, calling out that it's ready, eating it, and letting it go cold.
- gohan o taberueat, have a meal
- gohan o tsukurucook a meal, make dinner
- gohan ga dekiruthe meal gets ready (dekita = it's ready)
- gohan ga sameruthe food gets cold
Mix-ups gohan means the meal here, not only rice: gohan tsukuru is cooking dinner and gohan dekita yo means it's ready. Hot food cooling off is sameru (samechau yo), not samuku naru, which is for weather and people.
gohan o taberu
polite gohan o tabemasueat, have a meal
ご飯を食べる ごはんをたべる ご飯を食べます
verbtaberu 食べるeattypical 40% of gohan
trap Learners who know gohan as 'rice' avoid it for a pasta or burger dinner, but it is the everyday word for any meal (it means rice only when set against pan or men); shokuji (o) suru is stiffer.
Said about any meal, not just rice. gohan tabeta? (have you eaten?) is a real question between family, partners and close friends, not a greeting as in Korean or Chinese; answer un, tabeta, or mada (tabetenai) for 'not yet', because tabenakatta means you skipped the meal. Casual speech drops o; the meal is named only when it matters (asagohan, ohiru, bangohan).
gohan tabete kara iku ne.
I'll head over after I eat.
ご飯食べてから行くね。
gohan o tabete kara ikimasu ne.
I'll come over after I've eaten.
ご飯を食べてから行きますね。
meshi kuu (meshi kutta?) is the rough, mostly male version. Skipping a meal, by choice or habit, is nuku: asagohan nuita (I skipped breakfast).
Same verb: asagohan (breakfast), ohiru (lunch), yuuhan (dinner), bangohan (dinner)Learn alongside: gohan o tsukuru, gohan ga dekiru, gohan ga sameru, gohan ni iku, nomi ni iku (Stage 3)Main list: taberu (Stage 2)
gohan o tsukuru
polite gohan o tsukurimasucook a meal, make dinner
ご飯を作る ごはんをつくる ご飯を作ります
verbtsukuru 作るmake; with food, prepare or cooktypical 10% of gohan
The everyday way to say who's cooking: kyou wa watashi ga gohan tsukuru, or gohan tsukutte kureta (they made me dinner). Casual speech drops o, and the meal is named only when it matters (bangohan, obentou). ryouri suru also works for tonight's cooking (kyou wa boku ga ryouri suru), but it leans toward cooking as an activity (ryouri suru no ga suki).
kyou wa watashi ga gohan tsukuru ne.
I'll make dinner tonight.
今日は私がご飯作るね。
kyou wa watashi ga gohan o tsukurimasu ne.
I'll make dinner tonight.
今日は私がご飯を作りますね。
Cooking the rice itself is gohan o taku (in a rice cooker).
Same verb: bangohan (dinner), obentou (packed lunch), ryouri (a dish), karee (curry)Learn alongside: gohan o taberu, gohan ga dekiru, gohan ga sameru, gohan ni iku, nomi ni iku (Stage 3)Main list: tsukuru (Stage 3), -te kureru (Stage 2)
gohan ga dekiru
polite gohan ga dekimasuthe meal gets ready (dekita = it's ready)
ご飯ができる ごはんができる ご飯ができます
verbdekiru できるcome into being, get done; also 'can do' and 'be ready'
trap English 'dinner's ready' is in the present, but the kitchen call says the meal has come into being: gohan dekita yo; plain gohan dekiru yo means it'll be ready soon. The other everyday call is gohan da yo! (food's on!). If you reach for junbi, it's gohan no junbi (ga) dekita, the same dekiru as junbi dekita? (are you ready?).
Called out from the kitchen: gohan dekita yo! (dinner's ready!), in the past tense and usually without ga. mou sugu dekiru yo (it's nearly ready) uses the non-past dekiru for what's coming.
gohan dekita yo! hayaku kite.
Dinner's ready! Come quick.
ご飯できたよ！早く来て。
gohan ga dekimashita yo. douzo, samenai uchi ni.
Dinner's ready. Please, have it while it's hot.
ご飯ができましたよ。どうぞ、冷めないうちに。
gohan dekiteru kara (the food's made) means it's already waiting for you. gohan yo! is the motherly, feminine version of gohan da yo. The rice cooker finishing is gohan ga taketa.
Same verb: ryouri (a dish: ryouri dekita; ryouri dekiru? asks if you can cook), obentou (packed lunch), junbi (preparations: junbi dekita?)Learn alongside: gohan o taberu, gohan o tsukuru, gohan ga sameru, gohan ni iku, nomi ni iku (Stage 3)Main list: dekiru (Stage 1)
gohan ga sameru
polite gohan ga samemasuthe food gets cold
ご飯が冷める ごはんがさめる ご飯が冷めます
verbsameru 冷めるlose heat and cool down (food, drinks, bath water)
trap Not samuku naru: samui is for weather and how you feel, and hot food or drink cooling off is sameru. tsumetaku naru is for something that has gone fully cold.
Said to get people to the table (hayaku, samechau yo) or about a drink left too long (koohii sameta). Hosts say samenai uchi ni douzo (eat it while it's hot).
hayaku tabeyou, gohan samechau yo.
Come on, let's eat, the food'll get cold.
早く食べよう、ご飯冷めちゃうよ。
hayaku tabemashou, gohan ga samechaimasu yo.
Come on, let's eat, the food'll get cold.
早く食べましょう、ご飯が冷めちゃいますよ。
samasu (let it cool) is the transitive partner. The sameru of me ga sameru (wake up) is a different word.
Same verb: koohii (coffee), ocha (tea), ryouri (the food, a dish), ofuro (the bath)Learn alongside: gohan o taberu, gohan o tsukuru, gohan ga dekiru, gohan ni iku, nomi ni iku (Stage 3)Main list: samui (Stage 2), atsui (Stage 2), -uchi ni (Stage 4), -chau (Stage 1), hayaku (Stage 3), taberu (Stage 2), -ou / -you (Stage 4)