飯

Cooked Rice, Meal

めし (meshi)

JLPT N4

Interesting Fact

🍚 In Japan, gohan (ご飯) means both "cooked rice" and "a meal." This isn't a coincidence—rice has been the heart of Japanese cuisine for over 2,000 years. Whether it's breakfast (asa-gohan), lunch (hiru-gohan), or dinner (yū-gohan), the language itself reminds you that a meal is never truly complete without rice.

Memory Trick

🍚 The left side means food (食). Imagine opening a rice cooker and finding a giant bowl overflowing with steaming white rice. The delicious meal fills the entire room with its aroma. That's 飯 — cooked rice or a meal.