How to Make a Multilingual Menu: Add Pork and Alcohol Information to Translated Dish Names

Translating dish names alone does not help customers choose

Even with a menu in another language, Muslim customers may be unable to decide what to order if only the dish names are translated.

The Reference Volume of the Japan Tourism Agency’s “Hospitality Guide for Vegetarian, Vegan, and Muslim Travelers” includes comments from Indonesian Muslims that even English menus often list only dish names, leaving them unable to decide whether they can eat the food. For what to write on the menu, see How to List Ingredients on Your Menu: Clear Information for Muslim Customers, Even Without Halal Certification. This article covers how to put that information into other languages and how to correct the translations.

A menu in another language needs both dish names and information about what each dish contains. The steps here are based on materials from the Japan Tourism Agency and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. We checked all the sources on September 29, 2026.

Start with English, then add languages to suit your customers

Use English as the foundation

The agency’s Reference Volume says it is important to include English on menus and similar materials. It says that even restaurants making no special arrangements for Muslims can give Muslims information to decide what they can eat or drink simply by adding English to dish and ingredient names.

The agency’s “Guidelines for Improving and Strengthening Multilingual Support to Make Japan a Tourism-Oriented Country,” published in 2014, take the same approach. These guidelines cover signs at museums, tourist sites, public transport, and similar places, rather than menus. They recommend English as the foundation, with Chinese, Korean, and other needed languages at facilities where local or facility characteristics make them especially necessary.

The same guidelines say translations should use clear, plain words and sentences so that foreign visitors who are not native speakers can understand them too. Customers reading an English menu do not necessarily speak English as their first language. Short, simple English communicates better.

For how to distinguish halal, non-pork, and non-alcohol on signs in English, see Halal Is “Halal” in English: How to Say Certification, Dishes, and Non-Pork in English.

Languages from your Muslim customers’ countries

If you add languages besides English, choose them based on the countries your customers come from.

The agency’s Reference Volume says Malaysia and Indonesia have very high Muslim shares of their populations among Southeast Asian countries. It also says visits from Middle Eastern countries with generally high Muslim population shares are expected to continue growing.

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) estimates put visitor arrivals in 2025 at 640,600 from Indonesia (up 23.8% year on year), 636,600 from Malaysia (up 25.6%), and 257,200 from the Middle East region (Israel, Turkey, and the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries; up 54.7%). All were annual records. These are total visitor numbers, not numbers of Muslims.

Depending on your customers’ countries, Indonesian, Arabic, or another language may be useful additions.

Avoid adding too many languages

The Frequently Asked Questions page of EAT TOKYO, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s multilingual menu creation website, advises choosing suitable languages based on your customers. A single menu can display up to five languages. It also notes that the number of languages and the layout may make the menu difficult to read.

Every additional language adds text for each dish. You can keep the menu readable by describing the contents in English first, then adding one or two languages suited to your customers.

Combine dish names’ readings with explanations

Add an explanation after the romanized reading

Some Japanese dish names have no equivalent in other languages. For signs, the agency’s multilingual guidelines say Japanese words without a translation should be written in Hepburn romanization, followed by explanatory words. Although this approach is for signs, it can also be applied to dish names. The example is “Noren (Traditional shop curtain).” For words whose Japanese readings are widely known, such as “Sushi,” an explanation may be unnecessary.

Examples of EAT TOKYO translations

Looking up dish names in EAT TOKYO’s trial translation tool gives examples such as these:

• Oyakodon (親子丼) is “Donburi Bowl of Rice Topped With Chicken, Eggs, and Onions” in English and “Oyakodon (Nasi dengan Ayam dan Telur)” in Indonesian.
• Okonomiyaki with pork (お好み焼き（豚肉）) is “Savory Pancakes (Pork)” in English and “Okonomiyaki (Babi)” in Indonesian.

The Indonesian translations follow the guidelines more closely, placing an explanation in parentheses after the reading. The English translations focus on explanations and do not include readings such as “Oyakodon” or “Okonomiyaki.” Adding readings to an English menu lets customers and staff use the same name when ordering. In both languages, the explanations include main ingredients. The okonomiyaki example makes the use of pork visible in the dish name.

Add information missing from translated dish names

Broth and seasonings do not appear in the translated dish name

A translated dish name does not describe everything in the dish.

For shoyu ramen (醤油ラーメン), EAT TOKYO’s tool gives “Soy-sauce-flavored Ramen Noodles” in English and “Shoyu Ramen (Ramen Bumbu Kecap Asin)” in Indonesian. These tell readers it is soy sauce-flavored ramen, but not whether the soup uses pork bones (豚骨) or pork extract (ポークエキス). The English translation of oyakodon mentions chicken, eggs, and onions, but not whether the sauce uses mirin (みりん) or sake (酒), or whether the chicken is halal meat.

Adding lines like these below the translated dish name helps customers decide:

• Whether pork or pork-derived ingredients are used
• Whether ingredients containing alcohol, such as sake or mirin, are used
• What kind of meat is used, and whether it is halal-certified meat
• Whether fried food shares frying oil with dishes containing pork

Write about ingredients you use and those you do not use in the same way. If customers know an ingredient is used, they can choose another dish.

Oyakodon in English, in three stages

Adding lines to the EAT TOKYO translation of oyakodon shown earlier changes it as follows. The content of the added lines is an example for explanation and does not describe any actual restaurant’s ingredients.

Stage	English on the menu	What customers can tell
Dish name only	Oyakodon — Donburi Bowl of Rice Topped With Chicken, Eggs, and Onions	It is a rice bowl with chicken and egg
Add lines on pork, alcohol, and meat	The above, plus: We do not use pork or ingredients whose ingredient lists mention pork. The simmering sauce contains mirin (sweet cooking rice wine) and cooking sake. The soy sauce also contains alcohol. The chicken is not halal-certified.	No pork is used, the simmering sauce contains alcoholic ingredients, the soy sauce contains alcohol, and the chicken is not certified
Also state what you have not confirmed	The above, plus: We have not confirmed the origin of some ingredients in the granulated soup stock.	The restaurant itself has not confirmed some of the ingredients in the granulated soup stock

With only the translated dish name, neither people who avoid mirin nor people who do not mind it can decide without asking the restaurant. With the second stage, people can decide whether to avoid mirin as soon as they read the menu. The third stage is the part the restaurant has not been able to confirm. If you leave it untranslated, “We do not use pork” in the second stage may be read as meaning you have checked the granulated soup stock too.

In Indonesian, use the same three stages.

• Oyakodon (Nasi dengan Ayam dan Telur)
• Tidak menggunakan daging babi maupun bahan yang mencantumkan babi dalam daftar komposisinya. Kuah masakan ini menggunakan mirin dan sake masak. Kecap asinnya juga mengandung alkohol. Daging ayam yang digunakan tidak memiliki sertifikasi halal.
• Asal-usul sebagian bahan dalam bumbu kaldu instan belum kami verifikasi.

The first line is the EAT TOKYO translation. The lines after it are examples we added.

Word choice changes what is communicated

Even for the same ingredient, the words you choose affect whether readers recognize it as pork or alcohol. EAT TOKYO’s tool gave the following translations.

Japanese	English	Indonesian
ラード	Lard	Lemak Babi
みりん	Mirin, Sweet Sake	Arak Mirin
アルコール	Alcohol	Alkohol
ハラール	Halal	Halal

The Indonesian phrase “Lemak Babi” means pig fat and names the pig (Babi) explicitly. Mirin is also translated in terms that show it is an alcoholic drink: “Sweet Sake” in English and “Arak Mirin” in Indonesian. In Arabic, lard was translated as “دهون خنزير” (pig fat), and alcohol as “الكحول.”

When writing in English, adding words that identify pork, as in “Lard (pork fat),” makes the meaning clearer. The agency’s Reference Volume uses “sweet cooking rice wine” for mirin in its sample explanations.

The word “Halal” in the table needs care. The agency’s Reference Volume warns that phrases such as “halal dishes” (ハラール料理) and “halal restaurants” (ハラール店舗) may be understood to mean strict arrangements covering cooking and storage environments too. It recommends wording that accurately communicates that the ingredients used are halal.

Four phrases whose meaning often shifts in translation

Even when the Japanese is correct, the meaning can widen or become stronger in translation. When checking a translation, compare these four against the Japanese.

Intended meaning	Translation to avoid	Clearer translation
No pork is used as an ingredient (豚肉は原材料に使っていない)	Pork-free kitchen (widens to mean there is no pork in the kitchen)	This dish contains no pork.
The origin has not been confirmed (由来を確かめていない)	No animal ingredients (turns into a definite statement that none are used)	We have not confirmed the origin of this ingredient.
Applies only to some dishes (一部の料理だけが対象)	Non-pork restaurant (widens to every dish in the restaurant)	Dishes marked with ○ contain no pork.
Halal-certified meat is used (ハラル認証の肉を使っている)	Halal food (may be taken to mean that cooking and utensils are also covered)	We use halal-certified chicken.

The fourth is the same point the Reference Volume raises about phrases such as “halal dishes” and “halal restaurants.” What it recommends is wording about the ingredients that accurately communicates that the ingredients used are halal.

Even when you use a translation tool’s output as is, compare these four with the Japanese line by line. Check that negative words such as “not” and “no,” and words that set a scope, such as “some” and “not confirmed,” remain in the translation.

Use translation tools and have someone check the results

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s EAT TOKYO

Restaurants in Tokyo can make multilingual menus free of charge with EAT TOKYO. According to its FAQ, use is limited to restaurants with an address in Tokyo. Restaurants pay their own internet access charges, printing costs, and similar expenses.

The trial translation tool lists 12 foreign languages besides Japanese: English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Arabic. Malay is not included.

The menu creation instructions give the following steps:

• Choose up to five languages to display
• Create menu groups, such as lunch or banquet menus
• Choose a design and layout
• Add dishes. You can select from a list of basic dishes, combine ingredients, or create original dishes
• Enter the restaurant information
• Print the menu. You can also list the restaurant on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s restaurant search website for places with foreign-language menus

Original dishes need particular attention. According to the FAQ, changes to Japanese dish names are not automatically reflected in other languages. If you change a dish name or similar information, update the foreign-language fields yourself.

Restaurants outside Tokyo cannot use the menu creation service, but they can use hospitality tools such as the trial translation tool and communication sheets.

Have someone who can read the language check the translation

Even when you use a translation tool, having someone who can read the language check the result is helpful. For Chinese, the agency’s multilingual guidelines recommend checks by native speakers or dictionaries to see whether expressions are natural for visitors from Chinese-speaking regions.

The same applies to Indonesian and Arabic. A staff member, acquaintance, or customer who speaks the language can help check whether the pork and alcohol information communicates what you intend.

Add photos and pictograms

Use photos to show what is in the dish

Photos can help customers decide too. EAT TOKYO’s sample menu page recommends photos showing the whole dish, its contents, and its size. Photos with visible toppings help customers who cannot read all the text see whether meat or fish is used. Photos cannot show which meat it is or what is in the broth, so combine them with words.

Combine pictograms with words

EAT TOKYO lets you add 35 ingredient pictograms to menus for people who cannot eat certain foods because of religious rules, food allergies, or other reasons. The list includes pork, alcoholic drinks, gelatin, and other ingredients.

However, pictures of pigs need care. EAT TOKYO’s explanation of religions recommends avoiding pig illustrations or photographs on menus. The agency’s Reference Volume also says many people find pictograms useful, while some Muslims find pig pictures unpleasant. Combine pictograms with words such as “Pork” and “Alcohol” so customers need not rely on pictures alone.

Use the same wording beyond the menu

Put the information outside the restaurant and online too

Once you have translated the menu, put the same information where customers can see it before entering. The agency’s Reference Volume recommends clearly stating that dishes without pork or pork-derived ingredients are available in prominent places outside the restaurant, on the website homepage, on social media, and in map apps.

Help staff give the same answers

The Reference Volume says everyone, including customer-facing staff as well as owners and chefs, should accurately understand the menus and ingredients used to serve Muslim customers. Make sure staff can give the same pork and alcohol information verbally as appears on the menu. For sample answers, see How to Answer Questions from Muslim Customers: What to Tell Them About Pork, Alcohol, and Cooking Utensils.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government tools can also help with communication. EAT TOKYO’s communication sheets contain basic customer service phrases in 12 languages, including Indonesian and Arabic. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Multilingual Call Center for Restaurants” offers restaurants in Tokyo free telephone interpreting and translation in English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and French, 24 hours a day (restaurants pay the call charges). The translation service can also translate dish descriptions and instructions for eating them. Registration is required in advance. Indonesian and Arabic are not supported.

On Halal Gohan’s place listing application form, you can also choose the languages you support from Japanese, English, Indonesian, Malay, Arabic, and other languages. Alongside information about pork, pork-derived ingredients, cooking sake (料理酒), and mirin, customers can check these details before choosing a place. Listings are free.

Quotes from Japanese sources in this article are our own translations.

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Sources

Primary sources

• Japan Tourism Agency (counselor in charge of receiving foreign visitors), “Hospitality Guide for Vegetarian, Vegan, and Muslim Travelers: Reference Volume” (ベジタリアン・ヴィーガン／ムスリム旅行者おもてなしガイド 資料編) (in Japanese), April 2024 (pp. 39–40: growth in Muslim travel; p. 41: inconveniences and complaints; p. 47: practical points for serving Muslim customers; p. 48: non-pork ingredients; p. 50: non-alcohol ingredients; p. 53: explaining halal ingredients), checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001740444.pdf
• Japan Tourism Agency, “Guidelines for Improving and Strengthening Multilingual Support to Make Japan a Tourism-Oriented Country” (観光立国実現に向けた多言語対応の改善・強化のためのガイドライン) (in Japanese), March 2014 (pp. 7–8: choosing languages; p. 14: writing in English; p. 18: writing in Chinese; p. 28: points to consider when making translations), checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/810003138.pdf
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government, EAT TOKYO (multilingual menu creation website), “Frequently Asked Questions” (よくあるご質問) (in Japanese), checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.menu-tokyo.jp/menu/about/
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government, EAT TOKYO, “How to Create a Menu” (メニュー作成方法) (in Japanese), checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.menu-tokyo.jp/menu/flow/
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government, EAT TOKYO, “Example Menus That Help Attract Foreign Customers” (外国人の集客につながるメニュー表の例) (in Japanese), checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.menu-tokyo.jp/menu/use/example.php
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government, EAT TOKYO, “Try Translating Dishes and Ingredients!” (料理や食材の翻訳を試してみよう！) (in Japanese) (translations of oyakodon, okonomiyaki with pork, shoyu ramen, lard, mirin, alcohol, and halal), checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.menu-tokyo.jp/menu/tool/demo/
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government, EAT TOKYO, “Religions and Beliefs” (宗教別・信念) (in Japanese), checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.menu-tokyo.jp/menu/hospitality/religion.php
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government, EAT TOKYO, “Food Pictograms” (食品ピクトグラム) (in Japanese), checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.menu-tokyo.jp/menu/tool/pictogram/
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government, EAT TOKYO, “Communication Sheets” (コミュニケーションシート) (in Japanese), checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.menu-tokyo.jp/menu/tool/talksheet/
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs, “Multilingual Call Center for Restaurants” (飲食店向け多言語コールセンター) (in Japanese), updated March 30, 2026, checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.sangyo-rodo.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/tourism/kakusyu/callcenter/eat/
• Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), “Visitor Arrivals to Japan (Estimates for December 2025)” (訪日外客数（2025年12月推計値）) (in Japanese), released January 21, 2026, checked on September 29, 2026
  https://www.jnto.go.jp/news/press/20260121_monthly.html
  https://www.jnto.go.jp/news/_files/20260121_1615.pdf