Meaning

Primary

Rice Bowl

Alternative

Donburi Bowl

Word Type

noun

Explanation

The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.

To be exact, 丼 refers to a chinaware bowl that's bigger and sturdier than your ordinary rice bowl. It's often used for one-bowl dishes like katsudon, gyūdon, poke, but also noodle soups like ramen!

Reading

どんぶり
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

You learned the どん reading for this kanji, and this reading is just an extension of that, coming out to どんぶり. This change might be a little tricky to remember, so here's a mnemonic to help you out:

Rice bowls keep disappearing, and everyone's terrified. Who's behind it? Don Brie (どんぶり), the feared cheese-loving mafia boss. He wants those rice bowls to eat all his brie out of, because I guess plates aren't good enough. That's why they call him Don Brie.

Context

Context Sentences

アメリカで日本の丼みたいな食器を買いたいんですが、ちょうどいいサイズのがないんですよね〜。

I'd like to buy some tableware in America, like Japanese rice bowls, but I can't find the right size!

ねえ、あの丼の中に干からびた納豆が入ってたよ。

Hey, there was dried-up natto in that rice bowl!

朝から蟹丼なんて食べてるの?あんたって、本当に朝型人間ね。

You're eating a crab bowl in the morning? You're a real morning person, aren't you?

Kanji Composition