bowl

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 丼 has five strokes and is read どんぶり as a standalone word.
• Basic usage: It can mean a large food bowl or a rice-bowl dish served in it.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Vessel and dish
  • In 丼に御飯を盛る, it is the bowl receiving rice; in 丼を注文する, it is the dish being ordered.
  • The action in the sentence helps distinguish the two referents.
• Readings in food names
  • 牛丼 is ぎゅうどん, and 天丼 is てんどん.
  • These names use どん, not the standalone reading どんぶり unchanged.
• Distinguishing 井
  • 丼 has a central dot and is a different character from 井, which means a well.
  • The inherited Korean learning gloss “well” does not make 丼 on a Japanese menu refer to a well.