I have seen vegetarian translated as both bejitarian and Saishokushugi.
bejitarian is obviously an adaptation of vegetarian.
Saishokushugi can be loosely translated as faith to vegetables.
But what's the difference between the two terms and when would you use one over the other?
Answer
菜食主義 (saishoku-shugi) is vegetarianism, and 菜食主義者 (saishoku-shugi-sha) is a vegetarian, a person who practice vegetarianism. To break down:
- 菜 sai: vegetable
- 食 shoku: eat
- 主義 shugi: belief, ism
- 者 sha: person
To me, ベジタリアン and 菜食主義者 are almost identical as far as meaning goes. I believe you can safely use whichever you prefer in most cases. In casual settings, I feel many people prefer ベジタリアン, presumably because it sounds less stiff and is a lot easier to pronounce.
The number of vegetarians in Japan is probably small, and I feel few people in Japan practice vegetarianism for religious or ethical reasons. Most vegetarians in Japan refuse to eat meat for health-related reasons, so 菜食主義者 and ベジタリアン usually refer to such people. I'm vaguely aware that there are many sub-types of vegetarianism in western countries (including veganism), but they are scarcely recognized here in Japan.
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