馳 走(ちそう)

ちそう

noun

feast; treat; lavish meal

formalfood

1. feast; treat; lavish meal

A sumptuous meal prepared for guests. Almost always used today with the honorific prefix ご- as ご馳走(ちそう); the bare form 馳走(ちそう) is rare and feels literary or archaic.

客(きゃく)に馳走(ちそう)を用意(ようい)した。

I prepared a feast for the guests.

今夜(こんや)はご馳走(ちそう)を食(た)べに行(い)こう。

Let's go eat a nice meal tonight.

母(はは)は家族(かぞく)の誕生日(たんじょうび)に必(かなら)ずご馳走(ちそう)を作(つく)ってくれる。

My mother always prepares a feast for family members' birthdays.

Etymology: literally 'running about' — 馳(ち) (to gallop) + 走(そう) (to run). The original sense was the host running around to procure ingredients for a guest's meal, and over time the word shifted to mean the resulting feast itself.

Usage: The bare form 馳走(ちそう) is largely confined to written or formal contexts. In everyday speech, the prefixed forms dominate:

ご馳走(ちそう): a feast, a treat
ご馳走様(ちそうさま): thank you for the meal (said after eating)
ご馳走(ちそう)する: to treat (someone to a meal)

Common collocations

ご馳走(ちそう)になる: to be treated to a meal
ご馳走(ちそう)を並(なら)べる: to set out a feast
お正月(しょうがつ)のご馳走(ちそう): New Year's feast

general

Added 2026.5.15 13:12 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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