Where does “弁当” come from?

弁当 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 面筒, from Middle Chinese 面.

弁当 (Japanese): food brought on the go

Definitions

  1. food brought on the go

Ancestry of “弁当”, step by step

弁当 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 面筒

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese面筒—
2Middle Chinese面—

via Mandarin 便當

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Mandarin便當convenient

Words derived from “弁当”

Every word from Middle Chinese 面 →Every word from Japanese 面筒 →