The katakana dishes
Borrowed words — sound them out and they're English.
Menu words to know
A few kanji and kana that shape the whole menu.
Reading the prices
Prices are Western numerals followed by 円 (en, yen) or a ¥ sign. 税込 means tax is already included; 税別 means it's added on top. At an izakaya, watch for お通し, a small unavoidable table-charge dish.
Menu by restaurant type
A ramen shop usually orders through a ticket machine; an izakaya leans on 定食 and 飲み放題; a café menu is almost pure katakana. Whatever the spot, the katakana does most of the work — and the rest is a handful of kanji you'll start to recognize.
Read the next menu yourself
Learn the katakana the dishes are built from, paste a menu line into the converter, or point the app at the page and read it live — even offline in a shop with no signal.
Ready when you are
Read more than the menu.
Kanapow turns any Japanese word into kana with tap-to-hear pronunciation, so menus, signs, and konbini shelves all become readable. Free on iPhone, and the Japan Trip mode works fully offline.
Download on the App StoreReading a Japanese menu FAQ
How do you read a Japanese menu as a beginner?
Start with the katakana — borrowed dishes like カレー (curry) and ステーキ (steak) are English you can sound out. Add a handful of common kanji words like 定食 (set meal) and おすすめ (recommended) and you can read most of a menu.
What does 定食 (teishoku) mean?
A set meal: a main dish served with rice, miso soup, and small sides for one price. It's one of the most common and best-value things on a Japanese menu.
What is お通し?
A small appetizer brought automatically at izakaya (Japanese pubs), which comes with a modest table charge. It's normal, not a scam — think of it as a cover charge.
Do Japanese menus include tax in the price?
Look for 税込 (tax included) or 税別 (tax added separately). Prices use Western numerals followed by 円 (yen) or ¥.