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I realize that we can prefix the names of some food items such as "sushi", "sashimi", "mizu", and others with "o".

However, there are other food items, such as "tamago", for example, whose names cannot be prefixed with "o".

How can we foreigners decide when it's proper and when it's not proper to prefix the name of a food item with "o"?

Also, when prefixing food item names, is it お or を ?

Actually, I think it's probably the honorific お , but I just want to make sure.

ありがとうございます

HippoMan
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1 Answers1

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Basically only some traditional Japanese foods are prefixed with お, but there are a few minor exceptions. Western dishes (including yōshoku) or other Asian dishes don't have お.

Which traditional Japanese foods can have お is arbitrary and unpredictable, so you'll have to remember individually. I think the list is not very large, so it's possible to just remember them all.

The following list is not exhaustive but I think I have covered most common ones.

  • お水、お湯、お茶 (お茶漬け)、お紅茶
  • お味噌汁、お雑煮
  • お菓子、お餅、お団子、おせんべい、おまんじゅう、おかき★
  • お寿司、お刺身、お蕎麦、おうどん、お粥、お漬物、お豆腐
  • お握り★/おむすび★、お好み焼き★、お焼き★、お揚げ★
  • お酒、おビール
  • (お米、お野菜、お肉、お魚、お箸、お夜食、お食事、おつまみ★、おやつ★…)

★: Lexicalized; removing お will lose the original meaning

Lastly, these are technically not "honorific words" but "beautified words" (美化語) because they can be safely used to refer to something the speaker eats or drinks. No one would say you're arrogant if you say お茶を飲みました. See this for the difference: Terminology: Does the term 美化語 include all ご・お・etc. prefixes, or only ones outside of a 敬語 context?

naruto
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  • Thank you! Now I understand. One small point that is confusing me: all your examples start with お, but in your explanatory text, you make two references to を . Were those を references meant to be お , perhaps? – HippoMan May 19 '23 at 02:42
  • @HippoMan I'm sorry, it was a mistake. Fixed. – naruto May 19 '23 at 02:48
  • Thank you! ... one more を is still at the end of the first sentence of your answer. As a foreigner who occasionally gets confused about when to use お and when to use を , I feel a little bit of relief to see that even native Japanese speakers can sometimes make the same mistake that I make. :) – HippoMan May 19 '23 at 02:51
  • @HippoMan I almost never make such a mistake when writing ordinary sentences, but I did it 3 times today... My brain seems to be malfunctioning :) – naruto May 19 '23 at 02:53
  • That sounds similar to my own brain! :) – HippoMan May 19 '23 at 02:55