Delicious in Japanese: oishii, explained based on the kanji expression

How to say “delicious” in Japanese

In the Japanese language, there are several expressions for ‘delicious’. In this blog post, however, I will focus on the most widely-used one, “oishii”, and also its polite and less-polite expressions. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “oishii”
• Kanji of “oishii”
• Example #1: how to say “delicious” in Japanese
• Example #2: how to say “delicious” politely in Japanese
• Definition and meanings of “umai”
• Example #3: how to say “tasty” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “oishii”

First of all, let me start with the definition and meaning of “oishii”.

• oishii – 美味しい (おいしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘delicious’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, it can also mean ‘tasty’ or just ‘good’.

Its definition and meanings are quite simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail.

Kanji of “oishii”

Below are the kanji characters used in “oishii”.

• 美 : a kanji character used to mean ‘beautiful’ in Japanese. it can also be found in other words like “utsukushii“.
• 味 : a kanji character used to mean ‘taste’ in Japanese.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “oishii” means ‘beautiful taste’ in Japanese. Honestly speaking, this concept formed by the kanji is not so close to the meaning, ‘delicious’, because taste and beauty are completely differnt things. But, if we could visualize the taste of delicious things, it should be beautiful, I think. So, somehow, I’m convinced with this concept. On contrary, I love this kind of trick of kanji characters.

Then, let me explain how to use “oishii” through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “delicious” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kono – この : a prenominal adjective used to describe its following noun with the meaning of ‘this’. It can be used in the same way as “this” in English.
• nomimono – 飲み物 (のみもの) : a noun meaning ‘drink’ in Japanese. Learn more about “nomimono“.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is put after the noun phrase, “kono nomimono”, to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “oishii”. In this example, it is used as the complement to describe the taste of the drink. So, we can consider its usage the same as that of the English adjective, “delicious”. In addition, its usage as a modifier is also the same as that of “delicious”. We can say “oishii nomimono” to mean ‘delicious drink’ in Japanese.

Next, then, let me explain how to say “delicious” in a polite way in Japanese.

Example #2: how to say “delicious” politely in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• desu – です : an auxiliary verb put after a noun or adjective to make it polite. In the example, it is put after the i-adjective, “oishii”, to make it sound polite.

The auxiliary verb, “desu”, is widely used to make polite expressions of Japanese nouns and adjectives. It is, probably, well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In this example, it helps “oishii” to sound more polite.

So far, I’ve explained “oishii” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to make it sound polite. Next, then, let me explain how to say “delicious” casually in Japanese.

Definition and meanings of “umai”

Below is the casual expression of “oishii”.

• umai – 美味い/旨い (うまい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘delicious’ or ‘tasty’ in Japanese. It sounds more causal than “oishii”.

“Umai” has the two different kanji expressions as shown above. The first one has the same kanji characters as “oishii”, so it literally means ‘beautiful taste’. This meaning can be considered as a metaphor for ‘good taste’. The second one has the different kanji character, “旨”. It means ‘good taste’. So, regardless of the kanji expression, “umai” can mean ‘good taste’.

Then, let me explain how to use “umai” through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “tasty” in Japanese

This is a typical usage of “umai”. When we want to say “tasty” in Japanese, it would be the best choice in most cases.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the word, “oishii”, in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained its polite and less-polite expressions. Let me summarize them as follows.

• oishii – 美味しい (おいしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘delicious’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, it can also mean ‘tasty’ or just ‘good’. Its two kanji characters literally mean ‘beautiful taste’. This concept is not close to the meaning, ‘delicious’. But, if we could visualize the taste of delicious things, it should be beautiful.
• umai – 美味い/旨い (うまい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘delicious’ or ‘tasty’ in Japanese. It sounds more causal than “oishii”.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.