![[Surprisingly hard to recall?] Food names starting with 'go' by character count](https://media.ragnet.co.jp/img/1200__png__https://www.studiorag.com/files/2025/04/11ecac9565381e02638ccf3f0f05e1a4.webp)
I put together a list of foods that start with “go.”
When you’re playing shiritori and need a word that starts with “go,” and on top of that it has to be a food, the options become extremely limited, right?
If you’re suddenly asked for an answer, it can be hard to come up with one, and you might freeze under pressure.
So let’s be prepared with a list of food names that start with “go,” so you can answer smoothly without panicking!
We’ve organized foods that start with “go” by character count.
You might even discover some foods you didn’t know before!
- [Word Chain / Word Play] Words that start with “gu”
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- Animal names that start with “zu.” Perfect for shiritori and word game hints!
- A collection of words that start with “de”. Perfect for shiritori and word games.
- Useful for shiritori! A list of food names that start with 'fu'
- Useful for word games and shiritori too! Animal names that start with “ko” (the “ko” sound)
- [By character count] Names of animals and living creatures that start with “gi”
- [Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
- How many can you read? A quiz on difficult kanji for foods
- Trivia and fun facts about food (summary)
- [By character count] Words that start with “bu.” Hints for shiritori and word games.
- Surnames that start with “A”: from common to rare
- Foods that start with 'mi'? Useful words for Shiritori
2 characters (1–10)
sesame
When asked to think of a word that starts with “go,” many people will probably think of goma (sesame), won’t they? Since there are many similar words like “goma-abura” (sesame oil), it seems like it could be reused many times.
3 characters (1–10)
burdock (root)
It’s burdock root, which many people surely like.
By the way, in the Osaka dialect it’s pronounced ‘gonbo.’ Try using it if you get the chance.
Gonza (Gonza island)
Do you know about Gonza (Gonza/“Gonza”)? Gonza is a local dish from Nara Prefecture made by simmering ingredients like daikon radish and burdock root.
It is also the name of a place in Shiga Prefecture.
bitter melon
Goya, with its distinctive bitterness that grows on you, also starts with “go.” By the way, “goya” is just a common name—the official name is bitter melon (tsurureishi).
gomame
There’s a food that many people aren’t very familiar with called gomame.
Gomame refers to a dish made from young anchovies (Japanese anchovy) that are boiled or dried.
4 letters (1–10)
spotted mackerel (chub mackerel with sesame-like spots)
There is a creature that starts with “go”: the goma mackerel.
The goma mackerel is a type of mackerel, and in some regions it’s also called simply “goma.”
Gogatsuna (May greens)
There is a type of vegetable called gogatsuna (May greens).
You can enjoy gogatsuna in many ways, such as boiling or grilling it.
gaufre
There’s a word that could come in handy for games where you’re restricted to speaking a foreign language: “gaufre.” Gaufre is the French word for waffle.
It’s a bit different from the waffle we usually picture, so if you’re curious, look it up.
starfruit
You might not recognize the word “gorenshi.” Actually, it’s the Japanese name for starfruit.
In kanji, it’s written as 五歛子.
5 characters (1–10)
Gomoku soba (Five-ingredient soba)
Let me introduce a versatile phrase you can adapt in various ways: gomoku soba (five-ingredient soba).
If you want to increase the character count, try using terms like “gomoku chahan” (five-ingredient fried rice) as well.