Onyomi: ショク, ジキ · Kunyomi: く.う, く.らう, た.べる, は.む · Meanings: eat, food
Kanji for eat, food
Fast lookup with examples and clean stroke-order visualization.
Experience 食 in 3D! View the complete 3D Kanji model to understand its shape and stroke depth from every angle. Click the button below to see 食 in 3D and explore how each stroke forms this character.
Please support us by sharing!
The kanji 食 began as a picture of a person kneeling in front of food under a roof. In ancient times, it showed a scene of offering or eating — someone sitting to receive food. The upper part represents a roof or cover, while the lower part shows an open mouth ready to eat. Over time, this symbol came to mean “to eat” and “food,” carrying the sense of nourishment and daily life.
A person under a roof, about to eat — 食 shows the act of taking food, the image of eating and being nourished.
Picture yourself under a roof, bowl in hand, about to take a bite — that’s 食, the kanji for eating and food.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 食 | しょく | food, foodstuff | common Noun |
| 食 | しょく | eclipse (solar, lunar, etc.), occultation | Noun |
| 食堂 | しょくどう | dining room, dining hall, cafeteria, canteen, messroom | common JLPT-N5 Noun |
| 食事 | しょくじ | meal (e.g. lunch, dinner) | common JLPT-N3 Noun, Suru verb, Intransitive verb |
| 食欲 | しょくよく | appetite (for food) | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 食品 | しょくひん | food, food products, foodstuffs | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 食べ物 | たべもの | food | common JLPT-N5 Noun |
| 食べる | たべる | to eat | common JLPT-N5 Ichidan verb, Transitive verb |
| 食料品 | しょくりょうひん | foodstuff, groceries | common JLPT-N4 Noun |
| 食料 | しょくりょう | food | common JLPT-N3 Noun |