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How to Say ‘I ate sushi.’ in Japanese

お寿司を食べました。

o sushi o tabe mashi ta

[oh soo-SHEE oh tah-BEH mah-shee tah]

💬 Usage Tip: を marks the thing being eaten and is said (o). Swap the food to reuse it: ラーメンを食べました "I ate ramen."

Phrase Breakdown

お寿司を

o sushi o

sushi (object)

寿司 (sushi) with the polite お. を is pronounced 'o'. The 'u' in 'su' is soft: os'shi o.

Example

お寿司を作ります。

I will make sushi.

Words in this phrase

お

[oh]

honorific prefix

お adds politeness to certain words and expressions.

Example

チケットを二枚お願いします。

Two tickets, please.

寿司

sushi

[soo-SHEE]

sushi

Vinegared rice served with raw fish, seafood, or vegetables.

Example

寿司を食べに行きましょう。

Let's go eat sushi.

を

[oh]

object marker

The particle を marks the direct object of a verb.

Example

チケットを二枚ください。

Two tickets, please.

食べました。

tabe mashi ta

ate

The polite past tense of 食べる (taberu, 'to eat'). Say it as 'tabemash'ta', with the 'i' nearly silent.

Example

パンを食べました。

I ate bread.

Words in this phrase

食べ

tabe

[tah-BEH]

eat (stem)

Stem of taberu 'to eat', used before polite endings.

Example

一緒に食べましょう。

Let's eat together.

まし

mashi

[mah-shee]

polite past stem

Part of the polite past ending in a verb phrase.

Example

昨日は多くのことを学びました。

I learned many things yesterday.

た

[tah]

past tense ending

This ending completes the polite past tense form.

Example

空席がございました。

There were vacant seats.

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