Delicious in Japanese: oishii, explained with its major conjugations

How to say “delicious” in Japanese

There are multiple ways to say “delicious” in Japanese. In this blog post, however, I will focus on the most widely-used one, “oishii”. I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain its major conjugations with example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to say “delicious” properly in Japanese. Then, let’s get stared!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “oishii”
• “Oishii” in kanji
  • Example #1: how to say “delicious” in Japanese
• Nai form of “oishii”
  • Example #2: how to say “not delicious” in Japanese
• Ta form of “oishii”
  • Example #3: how to say “was delicious” in Japanese
• Te form of “oishii”
  • Example #4: how to say “delicious and” in Japanese
• Ba form of “oishii”
  • Example #5: how to say “if delicious” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “oishii”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “oishii”.

• oishii – 美味しい (おいしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘delicious’ in Japanese. This can also mean ‘tasty’ or just ‘good (in taste)’.

The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. To understand this adjective more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

“Oishii” in kanji

The kanji expression of “oishii” contains the following two characters:

• 美 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘beautiful’ in Japanese. This kanji character 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” literally means ‘beautiful taste’. This kanji concept is not in line with the meanings, but still close, I think. If we could visualize tastes of delicious things, their colors should be beautiful. So, somehow, I’m convinced with this kanji concept. Honestly speaking, I love this kind of play among kanji characters.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “oishii” through the detailed kanji check above.

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

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

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kono – この : a determiner used before a noun referring to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “kudamono” to say “this fruit” in Japanese.
• kudamono – 果物 (くだもの) : a noun meaning ‘fruit’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “kono kudamono”, to make the subject in the sentence.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “oishii” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “oishii”. When we want to say “delicious” in Japanese, it is a very good option. In this example, it works as a complement. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier to describe its following noun. So, for example, we can say “oishii kudamono” to mean ‘delicious fruit’ in Japanese. It’s worth knowing, I think.

In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain major conjugations of “oishii”. The first one is “oishikunai”.

Nai form of “oishii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “oishikunai”.

• oishikunai – 美味しくない (おいしくない) : the nai form of “oishii”, meaning ‘not delicious’, ‘not tasty’, or ‘not good (in taste)’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “oishikunai” consists of the following two parts:

• oishiku – 美味しく (おいしく) : one conjugation of “oishii”. This can have a smooth connection with “nai”.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of “nai” is similar to that of “not”.

From these two components, we can understand that “oishikunai” is literally the nai form of “oishii” and means ‘not delicious’, ‘not tasty’, or ‘not good (in taste)’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this nai form through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “not delicious” in Japanese

This is a typical usage of “oishikunai”. When we want to say “not delicious” in Japanese, this nai form is a very good choice.

Ta form of “oishii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “oishikatta”.

• oishikatta – 美味しかった (おいしかった) : the ta form of “oishii”, meaning ‘was delicious’, ‘were delicious’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “oishikatta” consists of the following two parts:

• oishikat – 美味しかっ (おいしかっ) : one conjugation of “oishii”. This can have a smooth connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ta form.

From these two components, we can understand that “oishikatta” is literally the ta form of “oishii”. In Japanese, ta forms of words can work as their past tense forms. So, we can use “oishikatta” to say “was delicious”, “were delicious”, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this ta form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “was delicious” in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• ano – あの : a determiner used before a noun referring to a thing not close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “kudamono” to say “that fruit” in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “oishikatta”. When we want to use the past tense form of “delicious” in Japanese, this ta form is very useful.

Te form of “oishii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “oishikute”.

• oishikute – 美味しくて (おいしくて) : the te form of “oishii”, meaning ‘delicious’, ‘tasty’, or ‘good (in taste)’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “oishikute” consists of the following two parts:

• oishiku – 美味しく (おいしく) : one conjugation of “oishii”. This can have a smooth connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.

From these two components, we can understand that “oishikute” is literally the te form of “oishii”. In Japanese, te forms of words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. Actually, “oishikute” is very useful when we want to use “oishii” before another adjective or a verb. Let me explain this point through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “delicious and” in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• yasui – 安い (やすい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘cheap’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “oishikute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “yasui”. When we want to use “oishii” before another adjective, its te form helps us to make a smooth connection.

Ba form of “oishii”

Below are the definition and meanings of “oishikereba”.

• oishikereba – 美味しければ (おいしければ) : the ba form of “oishii”, used to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘delicious’, ‘tasty’, or ‘good (in taste)’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, this ba form consists of the following two parts:

• oishikere – 美味しけれ (おいしけれ) : one conjugation of “oishii”. This can have a smooth connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

From these two components, we can understand that “oishikereba” is literally the ba form of “oishii”. In Japanese, ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “oishikereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘delicious’, ‘tasty’, or ‘good (in taste)’. Then, let me explain how to use this ba form through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to say “if delicious” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kono kudamono” to make the subject in the conditional clause.
• oshie – 教え (おしえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “oshieru”, which means ‘to teach’, ‘to inform’, ‘to tell’, or just ‘to say’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : the same as used in “oishikute”. In this example, this is used after “oshie” to make its te form, “oshie te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “kudasai”.
• kudasai – ください : the command form of “kudasaru” which means ‘to give’ in Japanese. When this follows a verb, however, it can work as an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’ to the preceding verb. In the example, this is used after the te-formed verb, “oshie te”, to add the meaning of ‘please’.

This is a typical usage of “oishikereba”. In the example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “kono kudamono ga oishikereba”, which means ‘if this fruit is delicious’. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘delicious’, this ba form is very useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “oishii” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained its major conjugations with the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• oishii – 美味しい (おいしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘delicious’ in Japanese. This can also mean ‘tasty’ or just ‘good (in taste)’. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘beautiful taste’. This kanji concept is not in line with the meanings, but still close, I think. If we could visualize tastes of delicious things, their colors should be beautiful.
• oishikunai – 美味しくない (おいしくない) : the nai form of “oishii”, meaning ‘not delicious’, ‘not tasty’, or ‘not good (in taste)’ in Japanese.
• oishikatta – 美味しかった (おいしかった) : the ta form of “oishii”, meaning ‘was delicious’, ‘were delicious’, or such in Japanese.
• oishikute – 美味しくて (おいしくて) : the te form of “oishii”, meaning ‘delicious’, ‘tasty’, or ‘good (in taste)’ in Japanese. This te form can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb.
• oishikereba – 美味しければ (おいしければ) : the ba form of “oishii”, used to make a conditional clause in a sentence with the meaning of ‘delicious’, ‘tasty’, or ‘good (in taste)’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.