Translation guide
A large, elaborate meal, often for a celebration. In Japanese, the most common word is ごちそう, which can refer to a feast or a treat. There are also specific terms for banquets, festivals, and metaphorical feasts.
ごちそう
feast (meal)
The speaker wants to refer to a big, special meal, often for a celebration or holiday.
The most common and versatile word for a feast or special meal. Can be used for home-cooked feasts, restaurant meals, or treats.
今夜はごちそうだ！
Tonight we feast!
母がごちそうを作ってくれた。
My mother made a feast for us.
A banquet or formal dinner party, often with drinking. Used for company parties, wedding receptions, etc.
忘年会は大きな宴会だった。
The year-end party was a big feast.
A celebratory feast or banquet. More formal and less common in daily speech.
結婚の祝宴が開かれた。
A wedding feast was held.
The speaker refers to a feast associated with a religious or cultural festival.
The feast associated with a festival. 祭り means festival, and ごちそう means feast.
祭りのごちそうを楽しみにしている。
I'm looking forward to the festival feast.
A celebratory meal set on a tray, often for traditional occasions. 膳 refers to a small dining tray.
正月には祝いの膳を囲む。
We gather around the New Year's feast.
The speaker uses 'feast' figuratively to describe an abundance of sensory delights.
Attach のごちそう to a noun to mean 'a feast for the ~'. For example, 目のごちそう (a feast for the eyes).
この美術館は目のごちそうだ。
This museum is a feast for the eyes.
彼女の歌声は耳のごちそうだ。
Her singing voice is a feast for the ears.
To enjoy or savor something fully, often used in the sense of feasting on an experience. Can be used as a noun or verb.
The speaker wants to express the action of eating a lot, as in 'to feast on something'.
To eat one's fill; to eat a lot. たらふく is an adverb meaning 'to one's heart's content'.
昨日は焼き肉をたらふく食べた。
Yesterday I feasted on grilled meat.
To eat heartily or greatly. More formal than たらふく食べる.
彼らは大いに食べ、大いに飲んだ。
They feasted and drank heavily.
Gluttony or eating to excess. Often used in a negative or critical sense.
ごちそう can be used both for the food itself and for the act of treating someone. When you treat someone to a meal, you say ごちそうする. After eating, you say ごちそうさま (thank you for the meal).
The word ちそう alone is not used. Always use ごちそう with the honorific prefix ご.
秋の味覚を堪能した。
I feasted on the flavors of autumn.
飽食の時代と言われる。
It's called an age of feasting (excess).