Onyomi: ハン · Kunyomi: めし · Meanings: boiled rice, meal
Kanji for boiled rice, meal
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The kanji 飯 combines the symbol for “food” or “eat” (⻟) with the character 反, which means “to turn” or “oppose.” Originally, it referred to cooked grains or rice — something transformed by heat. Over time, it came to mean “meal” or “cooked rice,” representing the heart of daily nourishment. In Japan, 飯 is not just food — it’s comfort, family, and the taste of home.
Food that has been cooked and transformed — 飯 means rice or meal, the daily food that gives strength and warmth.
Picture steaming rice just taken from the pot — that’s 飯, the kanji for a warm meal that fills both the body and the heart.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 飯 | めし | cooked rice | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 飯 | まんま | food | Noun |
| 飯 | いい | cooked rice | Noun |
| 飯落ち | めしおち | dropping off-line to eat | Noun, Suru verb |
| 飯店 | はんてん | Chinese restaurant | Noun |
| 飯事をする | ままごとをする | to play house | Expressions (phrases, clauses, etc.), Suru verb - included |
| 飯島虫喰 | いいじまむしくい | Ijima's leaf warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae), Izu leaf warbler, Ijima's willow warbler, Ijima's warbler | Noun |
| 飯盛女 | めしもりおんな | maid at an inn who served clients and worked as a prostitute (Edo period) | Noun |
| 波布 | はぶ | habu (Trimeresurus flavoviridis), yellow-spotted pit viper | Noun |
| 飯盒 | はんごう | (soldier's) cooking utensils, mess kit | Noun |