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N5Lesson notes · Oct 4, 2026

Cook in Japanese: 料理りょうりする (りょうりする), 作つくる, and what people actually say

"To cook" in Japanese is 料理りょうりする (りょうりする), but in daily life people usually say ご飯はんを作つくる ("make a meal") instead — and 料理りょうり on its own means "a dish," "cooking," or "cuisine," not the verb.

English uses one word, "cook," for the person, the action, and the skill. Japanese splits them. There is a noun for the dish, a verb for the act, a different verb that sounds more natural at home, and separate words for a professional. This article sorts them out, with the verbs for how you cook (simmer, fry, boil) and the phrases for saying you are good at it.

The basics

How do you say "to cook" in Japanese?

The standard verb is 料理りょうりする (りょうりする), made from the noun 料理りょうり plus する, "to do." Literally it is "to do cooking."

毎日まいにち、料理りょうりします。 — I cook every day. (polite, a general habit) 料理りょうりするのは好すきです。 — I like cooking. (polite, 〜のは turns the verb into a topic)

料理りょうりする is correct and understood everywhere. It sounds a little like a skill or a hobby, though. If you only say "I'm cooking dinner tonight," a native speaker will reach for a different verb.

What does 料理りょうり mean on its own?

料理りょうり is a noun with three jobs: a dish you eat, the act of cooking, and a style of cuisine.

この料理りょうりはおいしいですね。 — This dish is delicious, isn't it. (polite, a dish on the table) 日本料理にほんりょうりが大好だいすきです。 — I love Japanese cuisine. (polite, 日本料理にほんりょうり means Japanese food as a category) 母ははの手料理てりょうりが食たべたいです。 — I want to eat my mother's home cooking. (polite, 手料理てりょうり means a dish made by hand at home)

You can attach a country or region to it: 中華料理ちゅうかりょうり (Chinese food), イタリア料理りょうり (Italian food), 家庭料理かていりょうり (home-style cooking). When you want the general word for the Japanese food you see on a menu, 日本料理にほんりょうり and 和食わしょく both work, and 和食わしょく is the more common word in conversation.

Why do Japanese people say ご飯はんを作つくる instead of 料理りょうりする?

作つくる (つくる) means "to make," and ご飯はんを作つくる means "to make a meal." That is the phrase you will hear most often at home, because ご飯はん means both "cooked rice" and "a meal."

今日きょうの晩ばんご飯はんは私わたしが作つくります。 — I'll make dinner tonight. (polite, offering to cook) 何なにを作つくってるの? — What are you making? (casual, asking someone in the kitchen) 朝あさご飯はん、作つくっておいたよ。 — I made breakfast for you ahead of time. (casual, to family or a partner)

If you are comparing the choices: 料理りょうりする is the activity ("I cook"), 作つくる is the thing you produce ("I make dinner"). For the specific meal, 作つくる is what a native speaker picks.

Beyond the basics

What is 自炊じすい, and how is it different from 料理りょうり?

自炊じすい (じすい) means cooking your own meals at home instead of buying them or eating out. It is about who is feeding you, not about skill.

一人暮ひとりぐらしなので、自炊じすいしています。 — I live alone, so I cook for myself. (polite, a common self-introduction line) 最近さいきん、外食がいしょくばかりで自炊じすいしてない。 — Lately it's all eating out and no cooking. (casual, 外食がいしょく means eating out)

自炊じすい is also a lifestyle word: people talk about 自炊じすいを始はじめる (starting to cook for yourself) the way English speakers talk about "meal prepping" or "cooking at home to save money." The opposite is 外食がいしょく (がいしょく), eating out.

Which verbs say how you cook?

Japanese cooking verbs are precise, and mixing them up is how a recipe sounds wrong. Here are the five core ones.

Verb Meaning Typical use
煮にる (にる) simmer in a seasoned liquid 野菜やさいを煮にる
焼やく (やく) grill, bake, or pan-fry with dry heat 魚さかなを焼やく
炒いためる (いためる) stir-fry in a little oil 肉にくを炒いためる
揚あげる (あげる) deep-fry 天てんぷらを揚あげる
茹ゆでる (ゆでる) boil in plain water 卵たまごを茹ゆでる

魚さかなを焼やいて、野菜やさいを炒いためます。 — I grill the fish and stir-fry the vegetables. (polite, two steps linked with the te-form) お湯ゆで麺めんを茹ゆでてください。 — Please boil the noodles in hot water. (polite, a package instruction) 鍋なべで大根だいこんを煮にます。 — I simmer daikon radish in a pot. (polite)

The easy rule: 茹ゆでる uses plain water (see water in Japanese for the word 水みず and its hot counterpart お湯ゆ), 煮にる uses a seasoned liquid like broth or soy sauce, and 焼やく is dry heat. 蒸むす (むす, "to steam") and 切きる (きる, "to cut") round out what you need for a basic kitchen.

How do you say someone is good at cooking?

Use 料理りょうりが上手じょうず (りょうりがじょうず) or 料理りょうりが得意とくい (りょうりがとくい). Both mean "good at cooking," with a small difference in feel.

彼女かのじょは料理りょうりが上手じょうずです。 — She is good at cooking. (polite, praising her skill) 私わたしは料理りょうりが得意とくいじゃないです。 — I'm not good at cooking. (polite, a humble statement about yourself) 料理りょうりは苦手にがてで、いつも簡単かんたんなものしか作つくりません。 — I'm bad at cooking, so I only ever make simple things. (polite, 苦手にがて means "not my strong point")

上手じょうず is an observation anyone can make about someone else's skill. 得意とくい is closer to "my strong suit," so people use it more about themselves. When you praise your own skill, 得意とくい sounds less boastful than 上手じょうず. For the opposite, 下手へた (へた) means "bad at it," but it is blunt, so 苦手にがて is the safer way to talk about yourself.

How do you call a cook, a chef, and a restaurant cook?

Three words cover the person, and they differ in setting.

料理人りょうりにんになりたいです。 — I want to become a cook. (polite, 料理人りょうりにん is the general professional word) あの店みせのシェフは有名ゆうめいです。 — The chef at that restaurant is famous. (polite, シェフ is the head of a kitchen, usually Western-style) 父ちちはコックをしています。 — My father works as a cook. (polite, コック is the older loanword for a restaurant cook)

料理人りょうりにん (りょうりにん) is the neutral, all-purpose "professional cook." シェフ is a loanword for the head of the kitchen and is common for French and Italian restaurants. コック is also a loanword, but it sounds a little old-fashioned, like "a cook in a white uniform." For a chef in traditional Japanese cuisine, the word is 板前いたまえ (いたまえ); a sushi chef is usually 寿司すし職人しょくにん. "A chef" is not a hobby: if someone cooks at home, they are not a シェフ in everyday speech.

Where do いただきます and ごちそうさま fit in?

They are the words that frame the meal, not the cooking. いただきます is said before eating, and ごちそうさまでした after, partly as thanks to whoever cooked. See いただきます and ごちそうさま for the full explanation. For praising the food itself, use おいしい or one of the words in Japanese words for delicious, and for describing flavors, see taste words like 甘あまい and 酸すっぱい.

How does cooking sound in anime?

Cooking scenes in anime lean on a small set of phrases. A character announces 今日きょうは私わたしが作つくるよ ("I'll cook today") when they want to do something kind. 手料理てりょうり comes up in romance and slice-of-life stories, where a home-cooked dish carries feeling. Cooking competitions use 料理りょうり対決たいけつ (a cooking showdown) and the judges say things like 絶品ぜっぴん ("a masterpiece of a dish"). A character who cannot cook is 料理りょうりが苦手にがて, and their disastrous 手料理てりょうり is a classic comedy beat.

今日きょうは私わたしが作つくるから、座すわってて。 — I'll cook today, so sit down. (casual, an offer in a family scene) この料理りょうり、絶品ぜっぴんだ! — This dish is superb! (casual, the judge's reaction)

Common mistakes

  • Saying 私わたしは料理りょうりです to mean "I am a cook." 料理りょうり is a dish, so this means "I am a dish." Say 私わたしは料理人りょうりにんです or 私わたしは料理りょうりをします.
  • Using 料理りょうりする when ご飯はんを作つくる is more natural. It is not wrong, but if you only mean "I'll make dinner," 作つくる is what people say.
  • Mixing 炒いためる and 焼やく. If there is a pan, a little oil, and constant stirring, it is 炒いためる. If it sits and browns, it is 焼やく.
  • Using 茹ゆでる for simmering in broth. Plain water is 茹ゆでる. Seasoned liquid is 煮にる.
  • Calling a home cook シェフ. シェフ is a professional job title. A friend who cooks well is 料理りょうりが上手じょうずな人ひと.
  • Using 自炊じすい for any meal you cook. It means cooking for yourself in place of eating out. A big holiday dinner for guests is 料理りょうり, not 自炊じすい.

The cooking word map

Word Reading What it covers
料理りょうり りょうり a dish, cooking, or cuisine
料理りょうりする りょうりする to cook (the activity)
作つくる つくる to make (a meal, a dish)
自炊じすい じすい cooking for yourself at home
手料理てりょうり てりょうり home-cooked dish
料理人りょうりにん りょうりにん a professional cook
シェフ シェフ head chef, often Western-style
コック コック restaurant cook (older loanword)
板前いたまえ いたまえ a chef in traditional Japanese cuisine

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 3 and 4 are a pair — two cooking verbs, and the liquid in the pot decides which one.

1. Say "I cook every day" using the standard verb.

Show answer

毎日まいにち、料理りょうりします — 料理りょうり plus する, "to do cooking."

2. You are offering to make dinner tonight. Which verb sounds most natural: 料理りょうりする or 作つくる?

Show answer

作つくる — 今日きょうの晩ばんご飯はんは私わたしが作つくります. ご飯はんを作つくる is the everyday phrase for making a meal.

3. Eggs go into plain water. Which verb?

Show answer

茹ゆでる — 卵たまごを茹ゆでる. Plain water means 茹ゆでる.

4. Daikon goes into a pot with broth and soy sauce. Which verb?

Show answer

煮にる — 大根だいこんを煮にる. A seasoned liquid means 煮にる, which is the pair to question 3.

5. What is the word for cooking your own meals at home, instead of eating out?

Show answer

自炊じすい — 一人暮ひとりぐらしなので、自炊じすいしています. The opposite is 外食がいしょく, eating out.

6. What is wrong with 私わたしは料理りょうりです, if you mean "I am a cook"?

Show answer

料理りょうり means a dish, so this says "I am a dish." Use 私わたしは料理人りょうりにんです.

7. Say "She is good at cooking" in polite Japanese.

Show answer

彼女かのじょは料理りょうりが上手じょうずです — 上手じょうず is the normal word for praising someone else's skill.

8. You want to say you are not good at cooking, without sounding blunt. Which word is safer than 下手へた?

Show answer

苦手にがて — 料理りょうりは苦手にがてです. It means "not my strong point," which is softer than 下手へた.

9. Which word names the head of a Western-style restaurant kitchen: 料理人りょうりにん, シェフ, or 板前いたまえ?

Show answer

シェフ — the loanword for a head chef. 料理人りょうりにん is the general word for a cook, and 板前いたまえ is for traditional Japanese cuisine.

10. Fish goes on a grill, no liquid, dry heat. Which verb?

Show answer

焼やく — 魚さかなを焼やく. Dry heat is 焼やく, not 炒いためる or 煮にる.

Use a trial lesson to describe how you cook your favourite dish and notice when people say 料理りょうりする and when they say 作つくる.

FAQ

What is the most common way to say "I cook" in Japanese? 料理りょうりします is standard and correct. At home, people often say ご飯はんを作つくる or 作つくります for a particular meal.

What is the difference between 料理りょうり and 食事しょくじ? 料理りょうり is the food or the act of cooking. 食事しょくじ (しょくじ) is the meal as an event, as in 食事しょくじをする, "to have a meal."

Is 自炊じすい only for people who live alone? No. It means cooking for yourself instead of eating out or buying ready-made food, and families use it too, but you will hear it most from people living alone.

Can I say 料理りょうりが好すきです for "I like cooking"? Yes. 料理りょうりが好すきです and 料理りょうりをするのが好すきです both work. The second is a little more specific about the act.

How do I say "cook" as a verb for rice? For rice, the verb is 炊たく (たく), "to cook rice," not 料理りょうりする. ご飯はんを炊たく is the phrase for steaming a pot of rice.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

料理する	りょうりする — to cook
料理	りょうり — dish, cooking, cuisine
日本料理	にほんりょうり — Japanese cuisine
手料理	てりょうり — home-cooked dish
作る	つくる — to make
ご飯	ごはん — cooked rice, a meal
自炊	じすい — cooking for yourself at home
外食	がいしょく — eating out
煮る	にる — to simmer
焼く	やく — to grill, to bake
炒める	いためる — to stir-fry
揚げる	あげる — to deep-fry
茹でる	ゆでる — to boil (in plain water)
蒸す	むす — to steam
料理人	りょうりにん — professional cook
シェフ	シェフ — head chef
コック	コック — restaurant cook
板前	いたまえ — chef in traditional Japanese cuisine
上手	じょうず — good at
得意	とくい — one's strong point
苦手	にがて — not good at
炊く	たく — to cook rice

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, which comes up in nearly every beginner's first few lessons. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

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