ダイエット

だいえっと
noun, verb (suru)
diet, dieting
1. diet, dieting, weight loss
The practice of restricting food intake or exercising to lose weight. In Japanese, ダイエット almost exclusively refers to weight-loss efforts, not a general eating pattern.
ダイエット(ちゅう)です。
I'm on a diet.
(なつ)までにダイエットして(さん)キロ()せたい。
I want to diet and lose three kilos by summer.
食事(しょくじ)制限(せいげん)だけのダイエットは長続(ながつづ)きしないから、運動(うんどう)()()れたほうがいい。
A diet based on food restriction alone won't last, so it's better to incorporate exercise too.

MEANING SHIFT:
In English, "diet" can simply refer to what a person habitually eats (e.g., "a balanced diet"). In Japanese, ダイエット almost always means deliberate weight-loss efforts — restricting food, exercising, or both. To refer to one's general eating pattern, 食生活(しょくせいかつ) or 食事(しょくじ) is used instead.

GRAMMAR:
Used as a noun or with する: ダイエットする (to diet). Also commonly used with (ちゅう): ダイエット(ちゅう) (currently dieting).

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • ダイエットする: to go on a diet
  • ダイエット(ちゅう): on a diet, currently dieting
  • ダイエット食品(しょくひん): diet food
  • ダイエットに成功(せいこう)する: to succeed in dieting