Chinese

Noun

食物

1. food

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

See also

• 食料 (shíliào)
• 食品 (shípǐn)

Japanese

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 食物 ‎(zyik mjut, literally “eat + thing”). Possible alteration from strict goon reading jikimotsu, changing goon jiki for kan'on shoku.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• (Tokyo) しょく​もつ [shòkúꜜmòtsù] (Nakadaka - [2])^[1][2][3]
• IPA^(key): [ɕo̞kɯᵝmo̞t͡sɯᵝ]

Noun

食物 ‎(hiragana しょくもつ, romaji shokumotsu)

1. food, foodstuff
2. (more broadly) food and drink

Synonyms

• 食品 (しょくひん) ‎(shokuhin)
• 食 (た)べ物 (もの) ‎(tabemono)

Derived terms

• 食物繊維 (しょくもつせんい) ‎(shokumotsu sen'i): dietary fiber
• 食物連鎖 (しょくもつれんさ) ‎(shokumotsu rensa): a food chain

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 食物 ‎(zyik mjut, literally “eat + thing”). Possible original reading.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) じき​もつ [jìkíꜜmòtsù] (Nakadaka - [2])
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑikʲimo̞t͡sɯᵝ]

Noun

食物 ‎(hiragana じきもつ, romaji jikimotsu)

1. (rare) food, foodstuff

Usage notes

The shokumotsu reading is more common.

Etymology 3

From Chinese 食物. Possible reborrowing, or change influenced by later contact with China after borrowing of earlier goon reading jikimotsu.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) しょく​ぶつ [shòkúꜜbùtsù] (Nakadaka - [2])
• IPA^(key): [ɕo̞kɯᵝbɯᵝt͡sɯᵝ]

Noun

食物 ‎(hiragana しょくぶつ, romaji shokubutsu)

1. (rare) food, foodstuff

Usage notes

The shokumotsu reading is more common. The shokubutsu reading is generally avoided, due to the potential for confusion with the more-common term 植物 ‎(shokubutsu, “plant, plant life”).

Etymology 4

Compound of 食べ ‎(tabe, “stem noun form of verb 食べる ‎(taberu, “to eat”): eating”) +‎ 物 ‎(mono, “thing”).^[4][1]

For disambiguation, this is more commonly written with the okurigana べ in the middle as 食べ物.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) たべも​の [tàbémóꜜnò] (Nakadaka - [3])^[1][2][3]
• (Tokyo) たべ​もの [tàbéꜜmònò] (Nakadaka - [2])^[1][2][3]
• IPA^(key): [ta̠be̞mõ̞no̞]

Noun

食物 ‎(hiragana たべもの, romaji tabemono)

1. 食べ物: food in general; a specific food; one's diet

   See 食べ物 for more detail.

Etymology 5

Compound of 食い ‎(kui, “stem noun form of informal verb 食う ‎(kuu, “to eat”): eating”) +‎ 物 ‎(mono, “thing”).^[4][1]

For disambiguation, this is more commonly written with the okurigana い in the middle as 食い物.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) くいも​の [kùímóꜜnò] (Nakadaka - [3])^[1][2][3]
• (Tokyo) くいもの​ [kùímónóꜜ] (Odaka - [4])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [kɯᵝimõ̞no̞]

Noun

食物 ‎(hiragana くいもの, romaji kuimono, historical hiragana くひもの)

1. 食い物: food; a sexual partner; a patsy, someone tricked into being used for someone else's gain

   See 食い物 for more detail.

Verb

食物する ‎(hiragana くいものする, romaji kuimono suru, historical hiragana くひものする)

1. 食い物: to cook, to prepare food

   See 食い物 for more detail.

Etymology 6

Compound of 食らい ‎(kurai, “stem noun form of informal verb 食らう ‎(kurau, “to eat, to drink”): eating, drinking”) +‎ 物 ‎(mono, “thing”).^[4][1]

For disambiguation, this is more commonly written with the okurigana らい in the middle as 食らい物.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [kɯᵝɾ̠a̠imõ̞no̞]

Noun

食物 ‎(hiragana くらいもの, romaji kuraimono, historical hiragana くらひもの)

1. (rare, possibly obsolete) 食らい物: food and beverage

Etymology 7

Compound of 食み ‎(hami, “stem noun form of verb 食む ‎(hamu, “to chew; to eat; to suck down; to incur a loss”): eating”) +‎ 物 ‎(mono, “thing”).^[4][1]

For disambiguation, this is written with the okurigana み in the middle as 食み物.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ha̠mimõ̞no̞]

Noun

食物 ‎(hiragana はみもの, romaji hamimono)

1. (rare, possibly obsolete) 食み物: food; more specifically, fodder or feed for animals

Synonyms

• (fodder, animal food): 餌 (えさ) ‎(esa)

Etymology 8

Compound of 食し ‎(oshi, “stem noun form of honorific verb 食す ‎(osu, “to eat, to drink”, honorific): eating, drinking”) +‎ 物 ‎(mono, “thing”).^[4]

For disambiguation, this is written with the okurigana し in the middle as 食し物.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [o̞ɕimõ̞no̞]

Noun

食物 ‎(hiragana おしもの, romaji oshimono, historical hiragana をしもの)

1. (rare, possibly obsolete, formal honorific) 食し物: (rare) food and beverage

References

1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. 1 2 3 4 5 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3
3. 1 2 3 4 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0
4. 1 2 3 4 5 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan