Japanese Allergy Card: How to Say Your
Food Allergy in Japanese

The one sentence structure to know

Japanese allergy communication runs through a single pattern. Take the allergen, add アレルギーがあります (arerugii ga arimasu), and you have a complete, natural sentence:

For a severe allergy, two more sentences matter — these are the exact lines printed on the AllergyPass Japanese card:

Every major allergen in Japanese

These are the same terms the AllergyPass card prints — the words Japanese staff see on their own food labels, not dictionary translations:

One label trap worth knowing: on Japanese packaging, peanuts usually appear as 落花生 (rakkasei), the formal labeling term, rather than the katakana ピーナッツ you'd use in conversation. If you're reading ingredient labels at a konbini, scan for both.

How to say gluten-free in Japanese

Gluten-free is グルテンフリー (guruten furii) — a loanword most city restaurant staff recognize. But it's the wrong word to rely on, for two reasons. First, Japan has no legal gluten-free labeling standard, so the phrase carries no verified meaning on a menu or package. Second, the practical risk in Japan isn't visible wheat, it's soy sauce — which contains wheat and runs through most traditional cooking.

The safer frame is the labeling allergen: 小麦 (komugi, wheat), which Japanese law requires on packaged food. A written line like 小麦アレルギーがあります ("I have a wheat allergy"), with soy sauce called out explicitly, communicates what グルテンフリー doesn't. For celiac disease specifically, the AllergyPass card prints セリアック病 with an explanation that even trace amounts must be excluded — the distinction between preference and medical necessity that Japanese kitchens respond to. Our Japan food allergy guide covers where dashi and soy sauce hide across the cuisine.

Why written Japanese beats spoken English

Japan pairs near-universal literacy with a strong written-notice culture and, outside hotels and tourist districts, limited spoken English. A card in Japanese script gets handed from server to kitchen and read by the person actually cooking — no translation loss, no polite nodding through a request that wasn't understood. That's the entire design principle behind the translation card approach, and Japan is the strongest case for it anywhere in Asia.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say food allergy in Japanese?

Allergy in Japanese is アレルギー (arerugii). The sentence structure Japanese kitchens recognize is [allergen]アレルギーがあります (arerugii ga arimasu) — "I have a [allergen] allergy." For example, a peanut allergy is ピーナッツアレルギーがあります. For a severe allergy, showing the sentence in writing is far more reliable than saying it aloud.

How do you say gluten-free in Japanese?

Gluten-free is グルテンフリー (guruten furii), a loanword understood in city restaurants but with no legal labeling standard behind it in Japan. For safety, communicate in terms of wheat — 小麦 (komugi) — which is one of Japan's mandatory-label allergens, and remember that soy sauce contains wheat, so most traditional dishes are not gluten-free even when they contain no visible wheat.

Do restaurants in Japan accept written allergy cards?

Yes — a written Japanese-language card is generally taken more seriously than a spoken English request. Japan has near-universal literacy and a strong written-notice culture, so staff can hand a card directly to the kitchen. State the allergen using the same terms used on Japanese food labels, and mention derivative ingredients like soy sauce and dashi, which is how most hidden exposures happen.