What is a Bento Box?

Bento, originally means "convenience, ease, success". When it was introduced to Japan, it was initially spelled as "hando," "bidao," or "bidang" using the character " " (ateji)."Bento" came back to China from Japanese " " (pronounced: bentou). More simplified translations have become Bento, with most areas on the mainland calling it "box meal," referring to packed lunches. In Taiwan, it is generally called "bento," commonly used for lunch, takeout, and work meals."Bento" and "box meal" have slight differences in usage; "box meal" tends to refer to simpler and rougher meals, like the term "Japanese bento" is rarely described as a "Japanese box meal."