Formal — to stranger
Cultural · Dining
一汁三菜は、ご飯を左、汁物を右、主菜を奥に置くのが基本です。 — For ichijuu-sansai (one soup, three dishes), rice goes on the left, soup on the right, and the main dish in the back. (Cultural · Dining, Formal — to stranger, JLPT N3)
You
一汁三菜は、ご飯を左、汁物を右、主菜を奥に置くのが基本です。
いちじゅうさんさいは、ごはんをひだり、しるものをみぎ、しゅさいをおくにおくのがきほんです。
For ichijuu-sansai (one soup, three dishes), rice goes on the left, soup on the right, and the main dish in the back.
Romaji: Ichijuu-sansai wa, gohan wo hidari, shirumono wo migi, shusai wo oku ni oku no ga kihon desu. / Reply Romaji: Sayuu ga kimatteru n desu ne.
Reply
左右が決まってるんですね。
さゆうがきまってるんですね。
There's a fixed left and right, huh.
Gesture & etiquette
When setting the table, use both hands for each dish, place carefully and adjust to the exact layout. If guiding a foreigner, demonstrate the layout with both hands. At a restaurant, observe how staff sets the table and follow that arrangement.
一汁三菜 (ichijuu-sansai, one soup + three dishes) is the foundational structure of washoku. Layout: ご飯 (rice) front-left, 汁物 (soup) front-right, 主菜 (main protein) back-right, 副菜 (side dish) back-left, 副々菜 (small side) center-back, 漬物 (pickles) center. Chopsticks point to the left, tips on the chopstick rest. Reversing rice and soup is considered a mistake (or specifically funeral placement in some traditions).