飯（めし、meshi）
- meal/rice (colloquial)

The Japanese word 飯 (めし) primarily means "cooked rice" or "meal." It refers to the staple food of Japan, and by extension, a complete meal itself. It's a fundamental word in everyday Japanese. The word's meaning can extend to include the entire dining experience or the act of eating.

⚫︎朝飯 Translation: Breakfast ⚫︎昼飯 Translation: Lunch ⚫︎晩飯 Translation: Dinner

⚫︎飯 is a very common word, used daily. ⚫︎It's generally informal. In more polite settings, other words may be preferred. ⚫︎You would use it to talk about what you are eating, what you have eaten, or to invite someone to eat. ⚫︎It can be used in phrases such as 飯を食べる ("to eat a meal"), 飯にする ("to decide on a meal"), or 飯を炊く ("to cook rice").

⚫︎The standard way to write 飯 is with the kanji 飯. ⚫︎The reading is usually written in hiragana as めし. ⚫︎There is no variation in the okurigana.

⚫︎食事(しょくじ): A more formal word for "meal" or "dining." ⚫︎ごはん(ご飯): Cooked rice, or a meal. This is often used to refer to the food itself, and is very common. ⚫︎夕食(ゆうしょく): Dinner. ⚫︎朝食(ちょうしょく): Breakfast. ⚫︎昼食(ちゅうしょく): Lunch.

There aren't direct antonyms for 飯 in the same way as words like "hot" and "cold." It would be unusual to have an antonym for a food or meal itself. Perhaps "hunger" could be seen as an antonym in the sense that 飯 satisfies it.

もう飯は食べましたか？ ・Translation: Have you already eaten? ・Explanation: This is a common way to ask someone if they have eaten their meal for the day.

今日の飯は何ですか？ ・Translation: What's for dinner today? ・Explanation: This is a way of asking about the menu for a particular meal. It can also be applied for lunch or breakfast depending on the context.

The kanji 飯 itself originally referred to cooked rice. Its usage broadened over time to represent food in general and then a meal. The word evolved to encompass the entire dining event as well. The etymology is directly linked to the importance of rice in Japanese culture.