食べ放題

• Reading: たべほうだい
• Romaji: tabehōdai
• Kanji breakdown: 食べ (eating) + 放題 (as much as one wants/unlimited) → eat as much as you want
• Pronunciation: /ta.be.hoː.da.i/

Meaning

All-you-can-eat buffet or unlimited eating deal at a restaurant, typically with a set price and time limit.

A hugely popular dining format in Japan where you pay a fixed price and eat as much as you want within a time limit (usually 60-120 minutes). Common for yakiniku, sushi, shabu-shabu, and sweets. The phrase 元を取る (get your money's worth) is inseparable from 食べ放題 culture, as diners challenge themselves to eat enough to justify the cost.

Examples

1. 焼肉食べ放題で元取るぞ！ I'm getting my money's worth at this all-you-can-eat yakiniku!
2. 食べ放題だとつい食べすぎて後悔するんだよね。 At all-you-can-eat places, I always end up eating too much and regretting it.
3. この食べ放題、時間制限90分だって。 This all-you-can-eat has a 90-minute time limit, apparently.

Usage Guide

Context: restaurants, friends, event planning

Tone: excited, practical

Do Say

• 焼肉食べ放題行こうよ！ (Let's go to an all-you-can-eat yakiniku place!)
• 食べ放題は戦略が大事だよ。 (Strategy is important at all-you-can-eat.)

Don't Say

• 高級レストランで「食べ放題ないんですか」は場違い (Asking 'don't you have all-you-can-eat?' at a high-end restaurant is out of place)

Common Mistakes

• Not realizing that most 食べ放題 in Japan have strict time limits — you can't stay and eat indefinitely

Origin & History

Compound of 食べ (eating) + 放題 (as much as you want, unlimited). Has been standard restaurant terminology since the buffet format became popular in Japan in the 1970s-80s.

Cultural Context

Era: 1970s-80s onward, now a dining staple

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. All-you-can-eat is a major dining format with dedicated restaurant categories.