Japanese symbol for “edible”

食用

しょくよう

Romaji: shokuyou

for use as food; edible

In Japanese, edible is 食用, read しょくよう (shokuyou).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

adj-no, n for use as food; edible

Kanji and stroke order

食

eat, food

on: ショク、ジキ
kun: く.う、く.らう、た.べる、は.む

9 strokes · JLPT 4

用

utilize, business, service

on: ヨウ
kun: もち.いる

5 strokes · JLPT 3

Other Japanese words for “edible”

Word	Reading	Meaning
可食	かしょく kashoku	edible

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
食事	しょくじ shokuji	meal (e.g. lunch, dinner)
食品	しょくひん shokuhin	food; food products; foodstuffs
食べ物	たべもの tabemono	food
食料	しょくりょう shokuryou	food
食べる	たべる taberu	to eat
食う	くう kuu	to eat
使用	しよう shiyou	use; application; employment
利用	りよう riyou	use; utilization; utilisation

See also: Chinese symbol for “edible”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.