What's the difference between "gohan" and "meshi"?


In answer to my question on [the difference between "gyūdon" and
"gyūmeshi"](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/854/what-is-the-
difference-between-meshi-and-don-for-the-food-sometimes-translate) I learned
that "meshi" just means cooked rice. But I thought "gohan" meant cooked rice,
so please, what is the difference?

I do already know that "go-" is an honorific prefix and I think I've been told
that "gohan" can sometimes be used as a general word for food. But is that all
there is to it?




Observe:

> 飯 _meshi_  
>  ご飯 _gohan_

They both mean the same thing, which is _(cooked) rice_ and/or _meal_. Since
rice is an essential part of Japanese cuisine, the two meanings very much
overlap. As you said, ご〜 _go-_ is an honorific prefix, which makes ご飯 _gohan_
the politer alternative used in more polite speech.

> 昼飯 _hirumeshi_  
>  昼ご飯 _hirugohan_

Both mean "lunch" (lit. "midday meal/rice"), but their usage differs based on
politeness:

> 昼飯を食ってくる _hirumeshi o kuttekuru_ \- "I'll go grab a bite" (colloquial)  
>  昼ご飯を食べてきます _hirugohan o tabetekimasu_ \- "I will go out for lunch" (polite)

_(translations roughly equated to English usage)_

Note that both 飯 and 食 are the same, yet the pronunciations differ widely for
different politeness levels. Most words that can be formed with _meshi_ can
also be expressed using _gohan_.

Sometimes as part of compound words the politeness plays less of a role though
and it's just the origin of the word that decides the reading:

> 焼き飯 _yakimeshi_ \- fried rice, Japanese word  
>  炒飯 or チャーハン _chāhan_ \- fried rice, Chinese word




Observe:

> 飯 _meshi_  
>  ご飯 _gohan_

They both mean the same thing, which is _(cooked) rice_ and/or _meal_. Since
rice is an essential part of Japanese cuisine, the two meanings very much
overlap. As you said, ご〜 _go-_ is an honorific prefix, which makes ご飯 _gohan_
the politer alternative used in more polite speech.

> 昼飯 _hirumeshi_  
>  昼ご飯 _hirugohan_

Both mean "lunch" (lit. "midday meal/rice"), but their usage differs based on
politeness:

> 昼飯を食ってくる _hirumeshi o kuttekuru_ \- "I'll go grab a bite" (colloquial)  
>  昼ご飯を食べてきます _hirugohan o tabetekimasu_ \- "I will go out for lunch" (polite)

_(translations roughly equated to English usage)_

Note that both 飯 and 食 are the same, yet the pronunciations differ widely for
different politeness levels. Most words that can be formed with _meshi_ can
also be expressed using _gohan_.

Sometimes as part of compound words the politeness plays less of a role though
and it's just the origin of the word that decides the reading:

> 焼き飯 _yakimeshi_ \- fried rice, Japanese word  
>  炒飯 or チャーハン _chāhan_ \- fried rice, Chinese word

