食
食 in useful words
Learn the character in complete words, because its pronunciation can change with context. Read each word aloud, connect it with the meaning, and then cover the reading to test yourself.
- 食べるたべる
- to eat
- 食事しょくじ
- meal
- 食堂しょくどう
- dining hall
Reading 食 in context
食べる (たべる, to eat) uses た. 食事 (しょくじ, meal) and 食堂 (しょくどう, dining hall) use しょく. The verb ending べる is a useful clue that you are looking at 食べる.
Try it in a sentence
Practice sentence written for this site.
食堂でパンを食べます。
しょくどうで パンを たべます。
I eat bread in the dining hall.
Watch for this: In 食べます, 食 carries only た; べます is written in hiragana. Do not read the verb as しょくべます.
Check yourself: Read both 食 words in 食堂でパンを食べます。
食堂: しょくどう. 食べます: たべます.
The same sentence uses an on’yomi in the noun and a kun’yomi in the verb. The complete words tell you which to use.
Choose your next practice
For reading, cover a word’s pronunciation and recall it before checking. For handwriting, hide the stroke diagram and write the character from memory. An isolated reading list is a reference; the word determines which sound you need.