How to ask whether a dish is pescetarian-friendly?


I'm traveling to a smallish city in Japan a little over a week from now (I'll
be there two weeks), and I'm wondering what is the best way to ask a server
whether or not a particular dish is
[pescetarian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pescetarianism)-friendly? I tried
using the word "bejitarian" last time I was over there (because a vegetarian
dish is pescetarian-friendly), but I was just greeted with blank looks. Note
that last time I was there (about half a year ago) my Japanese was limited to
saying hello, goodbye, and counting to 10. This time, it's still not great
(I'd say I know fewer than 100 words), but I have been studying it using
Rosetta Stone, so at least my pronunciation might be a _little_ better.

Any and all advice is appreciated.




I'm a lacto-ovo-pescatarian who eats fish but not other seafood, who is living
in Japan. The most bewildering thing about your question for the Japanese
server is that most Japanese do not consider seafood to be meat. The other
confusing part is that they don't generally think in terms of a dish being
vegetarian or not (the majority of vegetable dishes in Japanese restaurants
also include pork, or beef, or seafood and it doesn't occur to them to make
the dish which primarily features veggies without sprinkling one of those in).
This is why asking " _bejitarian_ " was met with blank looks even though it is
a Japanese word.

Since the thought that you don't eat meat is so foreign to the server and
he/she is rather likely to get confused, **start with the main point** :

**First,** clearly enunciate as you say, "I don't eat meat":

> 「肉、食べない」( _niku_ [brief pause], _tabenai_ ).

**Next,** say, while pointing at the menu item, "Does this contain meat?":

> 「肉は入ってますか?」 ( _niku wa haittemasu ka?_ )

**Third,** if it looks like the person caught on, you can say, "Fish and
seafood are okay":

> 「魚、海鮮物、大丈夫」( _sakana_ [brief pause], _kaisenmono mo daijoubu_ ).

Or, if you eat fish but don't eat other seafood, say:

> 「魚は大丈夫。他の海鮮物、食べない」( _sakana wa daijoubu. hoka no kaisenmono, tabenai_ ).

(The server is already likely to have assumed that you can eat fish and all
types of seafood even if you don't eat "meat," so you may not find much
benefit to saying this.)

**One thing to be conscious of** regarding sushi/sashimi is that **sea
mammals** , such as whale and dolphin, may be overlooked as being meat, so if
you say that you eat seafood, the server is likely to group these within that
category, so just take note to avoid those particular dishes: whale = 「鯨」 or
「くじら」, dolphin = 「海豚」 or 「イルカ」

If the answer is that yes, the menu item you're inquiring about contains meat,
and so does the next one you ask about, and so does the next one you ask
about, then say, while twirling your finger over the entire menu, "Which item
does not contain meat?"

> 「どれが、肉入ってない？」( _dore ga, niku haittenai?_ )

**Another option** is to order something and ask, "please hold the meat":

> 「肉ぬき、お願いします」 ( _niku nuki, onegaishimasu_ )

This is what I usually do, since I am not strict, but sometimes, though the
server agrees that the dish can be prepared without meat, it arrives at the
table with the meat in it. This is why my Jewish friend was not able to order
salad in any restaurant: she gave up on asking because often it would come
with bacon bits or ham slices anyway.

Since you're new to the language, I wrote these in as simple Japanese as
possible. Even so, you may want to print them out and carry a small piece of
paper with you so you can show the server the printed sentences (or if you
will be carrying a smartphone or tablet, to pull it up on the screen). I don't
say this because I doubt your ability to pronounce the words, but [even if you
pronounce them perfectly, you might be met with a blank stare due to a mental
block on the part of the server.](https://youtu.be/oLt5qSm9U80)




I'm a lacto-ovo-pescatarian who eats fish but not other seafood, who is living
in Japan. The most bewildering thing about your question for the Japanese
server is that most Japanese do not consider seafood to be meat. The other
confusing part is that they don't generally think in terms of a dish being
vegetarian or not (the majority of vegetable dishes in Japanese restaurants
also include pork, or beef, or seafood and it doesn't occur to them to make
the dish which primarily features veggies without sprinkling one of those in).
This is why asking " _bejitarian_ " was met with blank looks even though it is
a Japanese word.

Since the thought that you don't eat meat is so foreign to the server and
he/she is rather likely to get confused, **start with the main point** :

**First,** clearly enunciate as you say, "I don't eat meat":

> 「肉、食べない」( _niku_ [brief pause], _tabenai_ ).

**Next,** say, while pointing at the menu item, "Does this contain meat?":

> 「肉は入ってますか?」 ( _niku wa haittemasu ka?_ )

**Third,** if it looks like the person caught on, you can say, "Fish and
seafood are okay":

> 「魚、海鮮物、大丈夫」( _sakana_ [brief pause], _kaisenmono mo daijoubu_ ).

Or, if you eat fish but don't eat other seafood, say:

> 「魚は大丈夫。他の海鮮物、食べない」( _sakana wa daijoubu. hoka no kaisenmono, tabenai_ ).

(The server is already likely to have assumed that you can eat fish and all
types of seafood even if you don't eat "meat," so you may not find much
benefit to saying this.)

**One thing to be conscious of** regarding sushi/sashimi is that **sea
mammals** , such as whale and dolphin, may be overlooked as being meat, so if
you say that you eat seafood, the server is likely to group these within that
category, so just take note to avoid those particular dishes: whale = 「鯨」 or
「くじら」, dolphin = 「海豚」 or 「イルカ」

If the answer is that yes, the menu item you're inquiring about contains meat,
and so does the next one you ask about, and so does the next one you ask
about, then say, while twirling your finger over the entire menu, "Which item
does not contain meat?"

> 「どれが、肉入ってない？」( _dore ga, niku haittenai?_ )

**Another option** is to order something and ask, "please hold the meat":

> 「肉ぬき、お願いします」 ( _niku nuki, onegaishimasu_ )

This is what I usually do, since I am not strict, but sometimes, though the
server agrees that the dish can be prepared without meat, it arrives at the
table with the meat in it. This is why my Jewish friend was not able to order
salad in any restaurant: she gave up on asking because often it would come
with bacon bits or ham slices anyway.

Since you're new to the language, I wrote these in as simple Japanese as
possible. Even so, you may want to print them out and carry a small piece of
paper with you so you can show the server the printed sentences (or if you
will be carrying a smartphone or tablet, to pull it up on the screen). I don't
say this because I doubt your ability to pronounce the words, but [even if you
pronounce them perfectly, you might be met with a blank stare due to a mental
block on the part of the server.](https://youtu.be/oLt5qSm9U80)

