頂, the Japanese Word for Top

The etymology of the kanji character 頂 comes from the word “itadaki” which means the summit or peak of a mountain. In addition, 頂く”itadaku” means “to receive something from a high place,” and in Buddhism, there was a practice of climbing high mountains to seek the teachings of Buddha. Therefore, “頂” is also used as a kanji character that means high places or mountains.

Examples of words containing the kanji 頂:

• 頂上 (ちょうじょう) /tʃoːdʒjou/ – summit, peak
• 頂上部（ちょうじょうぶ）/tʃoːdʒou bu/- the highest place
• 山頂 (さんちょう) /santʃou/ – mountaintop
• 頂点 (ちょうてん) /tʃouten/ – vertex, apex, pinnacle
• 最高頂（さいこうちょう）/saikoutʃou/ – the highest point
• 頂戴する (ちょうだいする) /tʃoːdai suɾu/ – to humbly receive or accept (a gift, favour, etc.)

いただきます itadakimasu, when Japanese eat something ⁽¹⁾

When we Japanese eat something, we say “itadakimasu.” However, we don’t use kanji 頂 in this case due to various theories about its origin. So, “itadakimasu” in hiragana (いただきます) is a general usage.

The phrase “itadakimasu” is considered a humble expression, and it is often pointed out that gratitude is behind this greeting. The most direct expression of gratitude is to thank the person who provided the meal or those who were involved in agriculture, labour, or cooking. Even today, it is not uncommon to express gratitude to those who were involved in cooking and labour or to one’s family.

Furthermore, religiously, the idea of “神人共食 /sʃindʒin kjouʃoku/,” an act of offering a meal to God and serving it as hospitality, and then having the attendees partake in the leftovers, is at the core, and the concept that “itadakimasu” expresses gratitude towards the gods has been suggested in fields such as folklore studies. However, this religious belief has now weakened, and “itadakimasu” remains as a greeting for meal etiquette.

In addition to gratitude towards people and gods, gratitude towards the food that sustains our lives, the blessings of nature that produce that food, and all things related to them that enable us to live are often mentioned as well.

Reference (1) https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/いただきます

Difference between 頂 and 戴

There are two different kanji that can be used for “itadaku,” and even native Japanese people get confused by them – 頂 and 戴. The difference between the two is that 頂 means “high places or mountains,” while 戴 means “to receive a gift.”

頂く is a more common kanji, while 戴く is not used as often. Textbooks and official documents usually recommend using common-use kanji, so 戴く is not really used. Therefore, in business situations, it’s generally better to use 頂く. But if you’re concerned, you can use hiragana (いただく) instead – it’s no problem at all. Actually, I tend to see hiragana more than kanji in general, so there’s that.

When you are confused just use 頂 or hiragana

お土産を頂き（いただき）ました。

/omijaɡe wo itadaki maʃita/

I received a souvenir.

お料理を頂き（いただき）ました。

/oɾjoːɾi wo itadaki maʃita/

I received a meal.

もう十分に頂き（いただき）ました。

/mou dʒuːbun ni itadaki maʃita/

I have already received enough.

The combination of 頂 and 戴 = 頂戴

There is a word 頂戴 /tʃoːdai/ combined 頂 and 戴, but they both are also called itadaku (頂く or 戴く）as I mentioned above. Originally, the phrase 頂戴 was used to mean “please receive this,” but it is now more commonly used by the recipient to mean “thank you for giving me this.” Like the below examples, 頂戴 is used almost the same as 頂く, but it sounds more polite than 頂く.

Examples of 頂戴 /tʃoːdai/

お土産を頂戴しました。

/omijage wo tʃoːdai ʃimaʃita/

I received a souvenir.

焼き菓子を頂戴しました。

/jakigaʃi wo tʃoːdai ʃimaʃita/

I received some baked sweets.

ごちそうを頂戴いたしました。

/ɡotʒsou wo tʃoːdai ʃimaʃita/

I received a wonderful feast.

When we must use hiragana for itadaku ⁽²⁾

When using いただく in a humble expression such as 来ていただく, ”you come” in a polite way, it should be written in hiragana. Alternatively, when politely saying “I will do it,” you can use the hiragana phrase “itadakimasu.”

せっかく来て”いただいた”のですが、○○（名前）はおりません。

/sekkaku kite itadaita no desuga XX wa oɾimasen/

Thank you for coming, but ○○ is not here.

ご心配”いただきまして”、恐縮です。

/ɡoʃinpai itadaki maʃite kjoːʃuku desu/

Thank you for your concern, I appreciate it.

あとで読ませて”いただきます”。

/atode jomasete itadaki masu/

I will read it later.

Reference (2) https://precious.jp/articles/-/34195

If you want to learn more about basic Japanese, please refer to the below post, too.

Japanese Basic Words 100