What is the difference between "meshi" and "don" for the food sometimes translated as "rice bowl" in English?


I'm a big fan of the Japanese fast food gyudon (cooked thinly sliced beef
strips on top of a bowl of boiled white rice) and its variants such as butadon
(the same but with pork).

But why do some chain restaurants call it "gyudon" and others "gyumeshi"? Are
both spelled the same?

Also at my local Japanese restaurant at home in Australia they seem to sell
this dish but never understand me when I ask for gyudon. Does it have other
names or are there simply dishes which seem alike to ignorant foreigners like
me?




The 丼 _donburi_ in 牛丼 _gyūdon_ specifically denotes a _bowl of rice_.  
The 飯 _meshi_ in 牛飯 _gyūmeshi_ just means _rice_ or even more generically
_meal_.

Both describe the same thing:

> ぎゅう‐どん【牛丼】  
>  「牛飯（ぎゅうめし）」に同じ。

"See _gyūmeshi_."

> ぎゅう‐めし【牛飯】  
>  ネギなどと煮た牛肉を、汁とともにかけたどんぶり飯。牛丼（ぎゅうどん）。

"A rice meal with onions and fried beef [...]. _Gyūdon._ "

I'm not sure which one is preferred in which situation, but personally I see
more _gyūdon_ in daily life (caveat: I don't eat it too often though). There
are many specialized kinds of [丼
_donburi_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%BC), while 飯 _meshi_ can be
used for almost anything edible and is usually just used in the sense of
"meal". It can also specifically denote _rice_ though, as in 焼飯 _yakimeshi_ \-
"fried rice", which is more often called チャーハン _chāhan_ though.




The 丼 _donburi_ in 牛丼 _gyūdon_ specifically denotes a _bowl of rice_.  
The 飯 _meshi_ in 牛飯 _gyūmeshi_ just means _rice_ or even more generically
_meal_.

Both describe the same thing:

> ぎゅう‐どん【牛丼】  
>  「牛飯（ぎゅうめし）」に同じ。

"See _gyūmeshi_."

> ぎゅう‐めし【牛飯】  
>  ネギなどと煮た牛肉を、汁とともにかけたどんぶり飯。牛丼（ぎゅうどん）。

"A rice meal with onions and fried beef [...]. _Gyūdon._ "

I'm not sure which one is preferred in which situation, but personally I see
more _gyūdon_ in daily life (caveat: I don't eat it too often though). There
are many specialized kinds of [丼
_donburi_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%BC), while 飯 _meshi_ can be
used for almost anything edible and is usually just used in the sense of
"meal". It can also specifically denote _rice_ though, as in 焼飯 _yakimeshi_ \-
"fried rice", which is more often called チャーハン _chāhan_ though.

