Question
I live in Tokyo with my Japanese husband, and last night I opened the pantry bin to scoop rice into the cooker and found it completely empty. He was still at work, so I wanted to text him to grab some on the way home. How do I say “I ran out of rice” in Japanese?
Answer by Professional Japanese Teacher
お米が切れちゃった。
Okome ga kirechatta.
I ran out of rice.
This is the casual phrasing you’d send to a partner or family member, which fits a quick text home perfectly. お米okome refers to rice in its raw, uncooked form — the grains sitting in the pantry. Once it’s steamed and in the bowl, you switch to a different word, ご飯gohan.
The verb 切れる kireru literally means “to be cut off,” and it’s the everyday way Japanese describes a household supply running out — rice, soy sauce, shampoo, batteries. The -chatta ending is a casual softener that adds a small “oops, it happened” feeling, which is exactly the tone you want when you didn’t notice until the cooker was already open.
If you’re saying it to a neighbor or your in-laws, dress it up:
お米が切れてしまいました。
Okome ga kirete shimaimashita.
I’m afraid we’ve run out of rice.
Same structure underneath, just a more polite finish.