Japanese word

ごちそうさま

Pronunciation

Romajigochisōsama

Meaning

  • interjectionthanks for the meal, thank you for the meal

Example

食べ終わったらごちそうさまと言います。ta be o wa tta ra go chi sō sa ma to i i ma su

We say "thanks for the meal" when we finish eating.

Illustration for ごちそうさま (thanks for the meal)

More examples

給食を食べ終わると、ごちそうさまと言います。kyū shoku o ta be o wa ru to go chi sō sa ma to i i ma su

When we finish school lunch, we say, "Thank you for the meal."

店員さんにごちそうさまと声をかけてから、店を出ました。ten in sa n ni go chi sō sa ma to koe o ka ke te ka ra mise o de ma shi ta

I said "Thanks for the meal" to the staff before leaving the restaurant.

Core concept

The phrase closes a meal by recognizing both what was received and the care given to provide it.

Common phrases

  • ごちそうさまでしたgo chi sō sa ma de shi ta

    thanks for the meal

Similar words

ごちそうさまでしたgochisōsamadeshita: A more polite expression used after eating to show thanks for the meal and the care behind it.

Definition in Japanese

食事を終えた人が、料理やその準備に対する感謝を示して言う挨拶。shoku ji o o e ta hito ga ryō ri ya so no jun bi ni tai su ru kan sha o shime shi te i u ai satsu

Word origin

ごちそうさま (gochisōsama) is formed from ご (go, "honorific prefix"), 馳走 (chisō, "feast"), and 様 (sama, "honorific suffix"); 馳走 once meant running about for a task.

Usage tips

  • The longer form ごちそうさまでした (gochisōsama deshita) is common in polite speech, while the shorter form ごちそうさま (gochisōsama) is frequent among family and friends.

Other meanings

  • that was a delicious mealinterjection

Word lists with this word