eat, food
Came from Chinese. It usually shows up when the kanji is joined to another, forming a compound word.
It is Japanese. It usually shows up when the kanji stands alone or is followed by hiragana.
The order matters: it is what makes handwriting come out legible, and it is how dictionaries index the character.
Visual decomposition, for recognising and comparing — not always the character's origin.
Where it appears is highlighted — the translation doesn't always make that visible.
どういたしまして。食べてみてください。
Dou itashimashite. Tabete mite kudasai.
You're welcome. Go ahead and try it.
分かりました。睡眠と食生活はどう?
Wakarimashita. Suimin to shokuseikatsu wa dou?
I see. And how's your sleep and your diet?
そんなに難しくないよ。まず、数日分の水と、腐らない食べ物。
Sonna ni muzukashikunai yo. Mazu, suujitsubun no mizu to, kusaranai tabemono.
It's not that complicated. First, water and food that won't spoil, for a few days.
こうして、感謝の食事は、二人の新しい習慣の言い訳になったのでした。
Koushite, kansha no shokuji wa, futari no atarashii shuukan no iiwake ni natta no deshita.
And so, the thank-you dinner became an excuse for a new habit of theirs.
もう、ポケットにも虫食いの穴があるし。
Mou, poketto ni mo mushikui no ana ga aru shi.
Oh, come on, there's a moth hole in the pocket too.
Readings and meanings: KANJIDIC2 · Decomposition: KRADFILE · Both from Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, CC BY-SA 4.0 · data from 2026-10-22 · Strokes: KanjiVG, Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0