The Dinner vs. Supper Confusion
By Cahaya
@cahaya1983 (11116)
Malaysia
September 14, 2015 4:51am CST
Where I'm from, we typically eat dinner anytime between 6-8 pm, and it's usually the last meal of the day. Others might have it a little later than 8. When I went to boarding school though, we were served one more meal after dinner, which was usually a light meal, and that's called supper.
Anyway, I recently came to know about this pretty interesting confusion revolving around the definition of supper and dinner.
Some people use dinner and supper interchangeably. For others, dinner is the evening meal, and supper is the light meal afterwards. Then there are those who define dinner as the biggest meal of the day (even if it's during daytime), and supper as the evening meal.
Apparently the terms dinner and supper seem to have different meanings in different countries/cultures.
What about in your culture? What do you consider as dinner and supper?
22 people like this
23 responses
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
It seems like things can be very different between countries and cultures (it's pretty obvious from the responses in this discussion 
). I was quite surprised to know about it too. I remember in one forum a guy said when he grew up in Texas in the 70's/80's "dinner" was the noon meal and "supper" was the evening meal. That's new to me.
). I was quite surprised to know about it too. I remember in one forum a guy said when he grew up in Texas in the 70's/80's "dinner" was the noon meal and "supper" was the evening meal. That's new to me.
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
14 Sep 15
To me dinner is the last meal of the day - supper to me is a very old fashioned word for that same meal. My grandparents said 'supper' so maybe that's where I get that. If my husband says supper I tell him I cook and eat dinner not supper.
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@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
14 Sep 15
@cahaya1983 I don't know until I figure out what restaurant we're going to LOL!
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
14 Sep 15
I use dinner to refer to the evening meal. It's usually the last meal in my household but I know other families sometimes light snacks after dinner and they call that supper. So, what's for dinner?
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@sprinklesare4winners (531)
• Avenel, New Jersey
15 Sep 15
same for me! supper just seems like an outdated term, whereas dinner is always the 3rd meal of the day, regardless of the size
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@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
14 Sep 15
dinner is more commonly used here, but supper also means the same, the evening meal. lunch and dinner are usually rice, whereas in other cultures lunch could be a sandwich and a fruit. but if someone had a heavy afternoon snack, they might have a light dinner. or if they had morning snack (after breakfast) they might have a late lunch and forgo afternoon snack.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
We use dinner more often than supper to refer to the main evening meal. In fact you hardly hear the term supper used. Rice is the staple food here too and typically the main thing for lunch and dinner as well. 
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Sep 15
When I was a child (a very long time ago) we always had dinner as our mid-day meal. It was the main meal of the day, and our meal in the evening was called 'tea'. We had that about 6pm and didn't have anything afterwards.
When I married we had our main meal in the evening as we were both working, and this we called dinner. It's remained that to this day.
.
3 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
14 Sep 15
So it used to be dinner at lunch time for you. I was actually surprised to learn that dinner can be a meal eaten during the day because I grew up knowing dinner as the evening meal. Now I know that in certain cultures dinner refers to the main meal, regardless of the time.
I was actually surprised to learn that dinner can be a meal eaten during the day because I grew up knowing dinner as the evening meal. Now I know that in certain cultures dinner refers to the main meal, regardless of the time.1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
14 Sep 15
Oh really, so you have supper before dinner. We have our tea and snacks in the afternoon around 4-5 pm, before dinner. I'm glad I get to learn about the differences in other cultures.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
Yeah I guess most of us Malaysians eat 3 times a day. I wasn't at all familiar with the term supper until I attended boarding school, and even then they used that term to refer to the light snacks before bed.
1 person likes this
@kloud9 (86)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
@cahaya1983 i didnt know that term refers to the light snacks before bed, thanks for info. if only i have a light snack right now , i would be so happy to eat it before bed
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
@kloud9 Haha that would be midnight snack!
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@redvakaurvaki (4216)
• Indonesia
15 Sep 15
It seems in my country, dinner and supper is just the same, or wait.. we don't really familiar with 'supper' terms actually
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@redvakaurvaki (4216)
• Indonesia
19 Sep 15
@cahaya1983 The point, something called dinner means there is rice in your plate in common
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
Yeah even here supper is actually a very uncommon term. Evening meal is always referred to as dinner.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
Actually now that I think about it, I don't think it's commonly used in most Asian countries, generally. I also grew up not knowing what supper means.
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@gregario888 (1276)
• Aurangabad, India
15 Sep 15
Usually there are three, the morning breakfast; the afternoon lunch, and the evening dinner.
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@gregario888 (1276)
• Aurangabad, India
15 Sep 15
@cahaya1983 Now a days due to hectic life, the eating habits have also undergone a change.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
I see, so what @mkg123 said about having milk and then snacks after dinner before going to bed isn't the norm in all parts of India then, it seems.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
@gregario888 I guess so. Plus some people work odd hours and can't really stick to the typical meal routine and schedule.
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@Beatburn (4286)
• Philippines
16 Sep 15
@cahaya1983 For our household, usually at 7pm. Though we can have it at 5pm when we're out and get a light snack before bedtime. 
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
17 Sep 15
@Beatburn Yeah same here, usually if we're outside we usually have dinner earlier than usual.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
Really, I didn't know tthe Philippines is known for that. So what time do you usually eat dinner?
So what time do you usually eat dinner?
@LadyDuck (472064)
• Switzerland
14 Sep 15
@cahaya1983 We only have one meal after the noon lunch and we have it around 7 PM.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
@LadyDuck Ah okay, we usually have tea between lunch and dinner. Tea is around 4 pm.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
14 Sep 15
Seems like for most people dinner is the last meal of the day, then.
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@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
17 Sep 15
@cahaya1983 Really? I didn't know that. I can see how supper and souper sound similar.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
17 Sep 15
@simone10 Yup! I was surprised to know that too.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
I just got to know that supper originated from the French word souper, related to soup.
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@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
15 Sep 15
i reckon it depends 'pon whom ya visit with in these parts. to me, dinner is 't noon 'n supper 's in the evenin'. 'course, the way i'm now, i gotta eat (k...drink most 've the time) 6x's a day coz my body's a hard time absorbin' 'n usin' nutrients properly.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
Yeah, I remember you telling about taking some supplements to help you absorb nutrients better. Oh so you mean you say dinner for the noon meal instead of lunch? I remember reading that apparently the meaning of "dinner" and "supper" differs from region to region in North America. Wikipedia says the distinction between the two terms were common within farming communities there into the 20th century. Interesting stuff!
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
@crazyhorseladycx Haha I know right. That would make things easier for sure!
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@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
15 Sep 15
@cahaya1983 yes ma'am, my body is severely challenged these days. yepperz, no lunchin' 't my place 'less yer wantin' dinner. 'r ya can come late 'n have some supper. mercy, its easier jest to say "com'n o'er coz we're throwin' on a feed".
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@softbabe44 (5816)
• Vancouver, Washington
14 Sep 15
The things we did while growing up was dinner some said brunch that was late morning conscidered a little breakfast or lunch dinner was supper
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
I have brunch more often than breakfast, lately. I should get back on track with my regular breakfast routine.
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@softbabe44 (5816)
• Vancouver, Washington
15 Sep 15
@cahaya1983 i would say both to makes alot of sense
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@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
10 Oct 15
Here in my neck of the woods (south eastern US) we say supper for the last meal of the day, usually served between 5 and 7pm.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
10 Oct 15
Thanks for sharing! We use the word dinner for the late evening meal where I live, so "supper" isn't a very common term.
@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
15 Sep 15
Dinner and supper are the same to me. Last meal of the day.
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@megamatt (14291)
• United States
14 Sep 15
I've always heard them used in an interchangeable manner. As the third meal eaten during the day, most likely during the evening. Well for most people, it's the third meal, some people end up skipping breakfast, but it's another discussion for another time.
To be honest, dinner seems like the more informal term for me, and supper is the more formal term for the last meal of the day, if it makes any sense. Both of them are the most extravagant meals. But, like you said, it differs from culture to culture.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
14 Sep 15
Hm, that's interesting too. For me dinner seems to refer to the meal that's more formal and "special" than supper, since we use the term "full course dinner" instead of "full course supper". Plus you'd invite someone for a dinner date rather than a supper date, hehe.
Here we refer to the meals simply as morning meal, afternoon meal and evening meal. I think I read that in the US there are differences between regions too.
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
14 Sep 15
I see. So I assume you use it interchangeably, then? Here dinner refers to the meal taken in the evening, and it's usually the last meal.
@mkg123 (256)
• India
14 Sep 15
we eat dinner at 9 pm and take milk at 10 pm and 11pm some snacks and eat and eat till we sleep .hahaha We are indians @cahaya1983
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@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
15 Sep 15
Oh wow, that's quite a lot of meals before going to bed! Is it just in your household or it's a common thing in India?
