レストラン

• Reading: レストラン
• Romaji: resutoran
• Pronunciation: /ɾe.sɯ.to.ɾaɴ/

Meaning

Restaurant, especially a Western-style dining establishment.

A katakana loanword from French/English 'restaurant.' In Japanese, レストラン typically implies a Western-style sit-down restaurant, as opposed to a 食堂 (shokudou, cafeteria) or 居酒屋 (izakaya, Japanese pub). Family restaurants (ファミレス) are a popular casual dining chain category in Japan.

Examples

1. 誕生日にイタリアのレストランへ行きました。 I went to an Italian restaurant for my birthday.
2. あのレストランの料理はおいしいです。 The food at that restaurant is delicious.
3. 駅の近くに新しいレストランができました。 A new restaurant opened near the station.

Usage Guide

Context: dining, outings, daily life

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

Borrowed from French 'restaurant' via English. The word entered Japanese during the Meiji era when Western dining culture was introduced to Japan.

Cultural Context

Era: Meiji

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal