Japanese phrases for food allergies, vegetarian and vegan eating
Japan is one of the easiest countries in the world to eat in and one of the hardest to eat around. What catches travelers is the ingredient nobody thinks to ask about: dashi, the stock made from dried bonito and dried sardines, which is in the miso soup, the dipping sauce, the simmered vegetables and the plain-looking bowl of udon. To a Japanese cook, dashi is not fish. It is seasoning.
So the phrasing here is deliberately specific. Saying "no meat" gets you fish. Saying "no fish" still gets you dashi. Saying you are vegetarian may get you a salad with ham on it, because ham reads as a topping rather than as meat. The sentences below name each ban separately, and lean on the two patterns that change what actually arrives: asking what something is made from, and asking for one ingredient to be left out.
If you have a real allergy rather than a preference, go straight to the card section. A printed line of Japanese does more work than ten spoken sentences, because it can be carried into the kitchen.
How do you tell a Japanese restaurant you have a food allergy?
Lead with the fact, not the request. Staff are trained to escalate an allergy to the kitchen, and arerugii is the word that starts that process. Then name the ingredient. The most useful pattern is not "I am allergic to X" but "I can't eat X", because it covers allergies, intolerances and religious rules at once.
Worth memorising before you fly: tamago ๅต (egg), nyuuseihin ไนณ่ฃฝๅ (dairy), komugi ๅฐ้บฆ (wheat), soba ใใฐ (buckwheat), rakkasei ่ฝ่ฑ็ (peanut โ on labels; out loud most people say piinattsu ใใผใใใ), kurumi ใใใฟ (walnut), ebi ใใณ (shrimp), kani ใใซ (crab), daizu ๅคง่ฑ (soy), goma ใใพ (sesame). Slot any of them into the sentences below.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| I have a food allergy. Say this first. It changes how the rest of the conversation is handled. | Shokumotsu arerugii ga arimasu. | ้ฃ็ฉใขใฌใซใฎใผใใใใพใใ |
| I can't eat egg. Swap in any allergen: komugi (wheat), ebi (shrimp), piinattsu (peanut). | Tamago ga taberaremasen. | ๅตใ้ฃในใใใพใใใ |
| Even a small amount is dangerous for me. | Sukoshi demo haitte iru to kiken desu. | ๅฐใใงใๅ ฅใฃใฆใใใจๅฑ้บใงใใ |
| Could you make it without egg? The word nuki (without) is the one that gets you a modified dish. | Tamago nuki de dekimasu ka. | ๅตๆใใงใงใใพใใใ |
| Could you check with the kitchen? | Chuubou ni kakunin shite itadakemasu ka. | ๅจๆฟใซ็ขบ่ชใใฆใใใ ใใพใใใ |
Why does "no fish, please" still get you fish stock?
Because dashi is not experienced as fish. It is what makes food taste like food, and asking to remove it is closer to asking a European kitchen to leave out the salt. The bonito and sardine are strained out and thrown away, so nothing fishy is visible: ask whether a dish contains fish and the honest answer is often no.
Ask about the stock by name instead. Two versions are genuinely plant-based โ konbu dashi from kelp and shiitake dashi from dried mushroom. Dashi hides in miso soup, rolled omelette, nearly every noodle broth and dipping sauce, simmered vegetables, okonomiyaki batter, and the innocent-looking salad dressing.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| What is the stock in this dish made from? Dashi o toru is the verb Japanese uses for making stock, so this asks what went into it. | Kono ryouri no dashi wa nani kara totte imasu ka. | ใใฎๆ็ใฎใ ใใฏไฝใใๅใฃใฆใใพใใใ |
| Is the stock fish, or kelp? Offering two options gets a clearer answer than an open question. | Dashi wa sakana desu ka, konbu desu ka. | ใ ใใฏ้ญใงใใใๆๅธใงใใใ |
| Please don't use any fish stock. | Sakana no dashi wa tsukawanaide kudasai. | ้ญใฎใ ใใฏไฝฟใใชใใงใใ ใใใ |
| Is there bonito flake sprinkled on top? The garnish that lands on okonomiyaki, tofu and salads at the last second. | Ue ni katsuobushi wa kakatte imasu ka. | ไธใซใใคใ็ฏใฏใใใฃใฆใใพใใใ |
| Are there any dishes with no meat, no fish and no fish stock? | Niku mo sakana mo dashi mo tsukatte inai ryouri wa arimasu ka. | ่ใ้ญใใ ใใไฝฟใฃใฆใใชใๆ็ใฏใใใพใใใ |
What will the waiter say back to you?
The reply is the part that defeats people. You deliver your sentence well, and a fluent answer comes back at speed in the extra-polite register staff use with customers. Three answers cover most of it: this dish contains it, let me go and ask, or the stock is kelp so you are fine.
How do you order vegetarian or vegan food in Japan?
The word bejitarian is understood but not reliably defined. It is often heard as "doesn't eat red meat", which is how chicken ends up in the fried rice and bacon in the pasta. Don't lean on the label โ list the bans: meat, fish, stock. For vegan, add egg and dairy in the same breath.
What works: shoujin ryouri, the Buddhist temple cuisine built without meat or fish, where the stock is kelp and dried mushroom by tradition โ still worth confirming at a modern restaurant serving a tourist version of it. The vegetable sides at an izakaya are the other reliable seam. What looks safe and often is not: inari-zushi, because the fried tofu pouch is normally simmered in dashi before it is filled. Convenience stores are harder than they look โ fish extract turns up in fillings and instant noodle bases.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| I don't eat meat or fish. Two separate bans in one sentence. Saying only the first gets you the second. | Niku to sakana wa tabemasen. | ่ใจ้ญใฏ้ฃในใพใใใ |
| I'm vegan. No meat, fish, egg or dairy. | Biigan desu. Niku, sakana, tamago, nyuuseihin wa tabemasen. | ใใผใฌใณใงใใ่ใ้ญใๅตใไนณ่ฃฝๅใฏ้ฃในใพใใใ |
| Do you have any vegetarian dishes? | Bejitarian no ryouri wa arimasu ka. | ใใธใฟใชใขใณใฎๆ็ใฏใใใพใใใ |
| Is the miso soup made with kelp stock? | O-misoshiru no dashi wa konbu desu ka. | ใๅณๅๆฑใฎใ ใใฏๆๅธใงใใใ |
| Could you make it with just vegetables? | Yasai dake de tsukuremasu ka. | ้่ใ ใใงไฝใใพใใใ |
How do you avoid pork and alcohol in Japanese food?
Pork is the default protein in more dishes than the menu admits. Ramen broth is usually pork bone, gyoza filling is pork, and curry roux blocks commonly contain pork or beef fat. At a small set-meal shop, the chicken cutlet may be fried in the same oil as the pork one. Lard appears on ingredient lists in katakana, as ใฉใผใ.
Alcohol is the other quiet one. Cooking sake and mirin are in teriyaki, most simmered dishes and plenty of dressings, and none of it is flagged on a menu because nobody thinks of it as alcohol. Saying the restriction is religious reads as non-negotiable in a way a preference does not.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| I can't eat pork, for religious reasons. | Shuukyou-jou no riyuu de, butaniku ga taberaremasen. | ๅฎๆไธใฎ็็ฑใงใ่ฑ่ใ้ฃในใใใพใใใ |
| Does this contain pork or lard? | Kore ni butaniku ya raado wa tsukawarete imasu ka. | ใใใซ่ฑ่ใใฉใผใใฏไฝฟใใใฆใใพใใใ |
| Is this ramen broth pork bone, or chicken? Tonkotsu is pork bone; torigara is chicken carcass. Both are on ramen shop signs. | Kono raamen no suupu wa tonkotsu desu ka, torigara desu ka. | ใใฎใฉใผใกใณใฎในใผใใฏ่ฑ้ชจใงใใใ้ถใฌใฉใงใใใ |
| Do you use cooking sake or mirin in it? | O-sake ya mirin wa tsukatte imasu ka. | ใ้ ใใฟใใใฏไฝฟใฃใฆใใพใใใ |
| Is there a halal restaurant near here? | Kono chikaku ni hararu no resutoran wa arimasu ka. | ใใฎ่ฟใใซใใฉใซใฎใฌในใใฉใณใฏใใใพใใใ |
What does a Japanese allergy label look like on a package?
On packaged food, find ๅๆๆๅ (genzairyoumei), the ingredients line, then look for a bracketed list at the end of it or a box underneath. As of 2026, eight ingredients must be declared by law: shrimp ใใณ, crab ใใซ, walnut ใใใฟ, wheat ๅฐ้บฆ, buckwheat ใใฐ, egg ๅต, milk ไนณ and peanut ่ฝ่ฑ็. Soy, sesame, beef, pork and chicken are only recommended, so their absence proves nothing.
You will also meet a line meaning the product was made on equipment that also handles egg or milk. The wording varies by manufacturer, but it is usually built around ๅใๅทฅๅ ด (same factory) or ๅไธใฉใคใณ (same production line) and sits just under the allergen box โ the thing no waiter would think to mention.
Carry a written card too: two or three lines of Japanese naming your allergen and saying it is serious. Hand it over rather than reading it out, so staff can walk it into the kitchen for the chef to read. If you carry an adrenaline auto-injector, keep it on you rather than in the hotel room, and if a reaction does start, call 119 for an ambulance instead of waiting to see how bad it gets.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| This card explains my allergy. | Kono kaado ni arerugii no koto ga kaite arimasu. | ใใฎใซใผใใซใขใฌใซใฎใผใฎใใจใๆธใใฆใใใพใใ |
| Could you show this card to the kitchen staff? | Kono kaado o chuubou no kata ni misete itadakemasu ka. | ใใฎใซใผใใๅจๆฟใฎๆนใซ่ฆใใฆใใใ ใใพใใใ |
What if the restaurant says they can't do it?
Sometimes the answer is no, and it is a real no. A kitchen that cannot guarantee a dish will decline rather than gamble, and a counter shop where everything comes out of one stock pot genuinely cannot separate anything. Ticket-machine shops are the extreme case: the meal is defined before anyone has seen you, and the person at the counter often has no way to alter it โ though it still costs nothing to ask before you buy the ticket. A refusal is care, not a snub.
Two habits make the rest easy. Ask before you sit down โ leaving is painless at the door and excruciating at the table. And ask outside the rush; half past twelve on a weekday is the worst possible moment.
What else is in PlaneHopper for this
Everything above is free to read and use. The full course adds 1 more scenario for these situations โ each with the complete phrase set, every reply you might hear, and a 10-second roleplay that makes you produce the line under time pressure instead of just reading it.
๐ฅ Allergies & "no ___"
The live version of this conversation: a waiter asks what you can't eat, and you have to produce the answer out loud while the kitchen waits.
- ___ no arerugii ga arimasu. ___ใฎใขใฌใซใฎใผใใใใพใใ
I have a ___ allergy. (tamago=egg, ebi=shrimp, kani=crab, piinattsu=peanut, komugi=wheat, soba=buckwheat) - Kore ni ___ wa haitte imasu ka? ใใใซ___ใฏๅ
ฅใฃใฆใใพใใ๏ผ
Is there ___ in this?
+10 more phrases, replies and a timed roleplay in PlaneHopper.
None of this needs good Japanese. It needs a level of specificity that feels almost rude in English and reads as entirely normal here. Name the ingredient, ask what the stock is, and let the waiter go and check.
And when a kitchen does look after you, the line to leave on is gochisousama deshita โ thank you for the meal.
Frequently asked questions
How do I say I'm allergic to eggs in Japanese?
Say "tamago ga taberaremasen", which literally means "I can't eat egg", and lead with "shokumotsu arerugii ga arimasu" so staff know it is medical rather than a preference. Swap tamago for your own allergen: komugi is wheat, ebi is shrimp, rakkasei is peanut, kurumi is walnut. The loan word arerugii is understood in every restaurant in the country.
Is dashi vegetarian?
Usually not. The standard stock is made from katsuobushi (dried bonito) or niboshi (dried sardine), and it is in miso soup, noodle broth, dipping sauces and simmered vegetables. The plant-based versions are konbu dashi from kelp and shiitake dashi from dried mushroom, so ask which one the kitchen uses rather than asking whether the dish contains fish.
Do Japanese restaurants have allergy information?
Chains usually do. Family restaurants, big ramen groups and fast food often publish an allergen chart in the menu, on a laminated card at the till or behind a QR code. Independent shops generally do not, and the chef answers from memory instead. That is not carelessness, it is a two-person kitchen with no printed documentation.
Will staff in Japan understand the word vegan?
Biigan is increasingly recognised in the big cities but is not dependable, and bejitarian is often understood as "no red meat". Say the list rather than the label: no meat, no fish, no egg, no dairy, no fish stock. It takes four seconds longer and removes every bit of the guesswork.
Can I eat safely from a konbini with allergies?
Often more safely than in a restaurant, because everything is labelled. Look for the genzairyoumei ingredients line and the allergen box printed near it. Eight allergens must be declared by law as of 2026, so a package is a more reliable source of truth than a waiter in the middle of a lunch rush.
Is it rude to ask a Japanese restaurant to change a dish?
Asking is not rude, but being told no is completely normal. Many kitchens assemble dishes from a shared stock pot or a pre-made base and genuinely cannot pull one component out of it. Ask at the door before you are seated, take the answer at face value, and try somewhere else.