Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Today’s word is okazu おかず.
If you look up okazu おかず in a Japanese-English dictionary, you find strange explanations such as “subsidiary articles of diet” and “an accompanying dish.” The reason is because there is no equivalent idea in English-speaking cultures and therefore no exact English translation. A typical Japanese dinner always includes rice as the staple, and that is why rice is called shusoku 主食 (literally, “main food”) in Japanese. Along with rice, one may have vegetable, fish, or meat. Those non-rice items are what is called okazu おかず. Ina typical Japanese family, the following conversation often takes place in the late afternoon between a child who just got home from school and his/her mother, who is preparing dinner:

[Example]
Child: Konban no okazu nani.
　　　　　　　今晩のおかずなあに。
　　　　　　　What’s this evening’s okazu?
Mother: Tenpura yo.
　　　　　　　　　天ぷらよ。
　　　　　　　　　It’s tempura.

In normal English, one might just ask “What’s today’s dinner?” because what is okazu to a Japanese is actually conceived oof as dinner itself by English speakers for, in English-speaking cultures, bread, which is considered to play the same role as rice, is in truth just something that goes with the main course, not vice versa.

March 29th News, from NILS Japanese language school.