AS IT IS 2015-11-19 Slurp Your Soup, Yes! Share Your Sticks, No! Japanese Dining Rules

AS IT IS 2015-11-19 Slurp¹ Your Soup, Yes! Share Your Sticks, No! Japanese Dining Rules

Almost anywhere in the world, people can find a Japanese restaurant.

Many walk by because they do not know the customs or the kinds of food. VOA Learning English writers want to take away that fear and explain what to do in a Japanese restaurant.

VOA producer Peter Musto, plus an exchange student from Colombia, Elena, and I, Haruka Takeuchi, went to Izakaya Seki in Washington D.C.

They experienced a Japanese-style bar -- called an izakaya -- for the first time. They also learned how to behave in the Japanese-style bar and how to use chopsticks. Let’s see their surprising adventure!

An izakaya serves many kinds of food as well as alcoholic² drinks. It is popular among office workers in Japan. Popular foods are raw fish, called sashimi, and soybeans, called edamame.

At an izakaya, Japanese pour alcoholic drinks in order of age. The younger people fill the glasses of the older people to be polite. Everyone raises a glass and says “Kampai!” before they start to drink. Kampai means cheers.

Chopsticks manners are different from country to country. In Japan, there are some taboos⁴ about how to use chopsticks.

For example, you should not stick your chopsticks into food like a spear. Instead, lift the food from the side. In Japan, little children tend to spear food because it is difficult to pick up with chopsticks.

Elena could not hold the raw fish, so she speared it.

Also, you should not wave your chopsticks above food.

You should be careful about the way you pass food. You should not pass anything from your chopsticks to another person’s chopsticks. That is the way chopsticks are used at a Buddhist⁵ funeral.

Do not scrape wooden, or one-use chopsticks together. When the chopsticks are broken apart, some loose pieces of wood might remain. But don't scrape them off. Taking them off by a hand is better.

On the other hand, making a slurping⁶ noise is acceptable when people eat hot soup and noodles. Japanese sip⁷ from the bowl and do not use a spoon when they eat miso soup.

It is fine to eat rice balls or onigiri with your hands. You don't need chopsticks or a fork and knife. Just grab a rice ball and bite it.

Although there are traditions and taboos about eating in a Japanese restaurant, non-Japanese diners should not be worried too much about them. Most Japanese do not criticize as I do in the video when people make a mistake. There is no shame. It is usual that people do not know foreign manners well. Most Japanese like me would welcome you to Japan and Japanese restaurants all over the world.

Words in This Story

taboo³ – n. a rule against doing or saying something in a culture or religion

spear – v. to push or poke⁸ a pointed⁹ object into something

scrape – v. to remove from a surface by rubbing an object or tool in one direction

slurp – v. to eat or drink noisily or with a sucking sound

1 slurp   

n.啜食；vt.饮食出声

参考例句：

• You may not slurp your soup.喝汤不可发出声音。
• Do you always slurp when a milkshake?你总是这样啧啧喝牛奶吗？

2 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

3 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

4 taboos   

禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为）

参考例句：

• She was unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos. 她被藩蓠、法律及外来的戒律赶下了马。
• His mind was charged with taboos. 他头脑里忌讳很多。

5 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

6 slurping   

v.啜食( slurp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was slurping his tea. 他正咂着嘴喝茶。
• Although the downturn has not stopped consumers slurping ice-cream, it has affected the bottom line. 尽管经济低迷没有阻止消费者吃冰淇淋，但却影响了净利润。 来自互联网

7 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

8 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。