Japanese film classic Tampopo is a joyful celebration of Japanese food culture. In a famous scene there (see above), an old sensei jokingly winds up a young ‘un by making up, with a deadpan face, overly complicated rules of eating a bowl or ramen. Eventually, everyone present bursts out laughing at the sheer ridiculousness that the sensei‘s “rules” reach.
Food in Japan, however, is a serious business that requires quite an evolved vocabulary to deal with. Apart from the basic words such as 美味しい/おいしい (tasty) and 不味い/まずい (bad-tasting), Asian cuisines in general and Japanese one in particular are concerned with the balance and quality of the Seven Tastes:
・ 甘い あまい sweet
・ 酸っぱい すっぱい sour
・ 塩辛い/しょっぱい しおからい/しょっぱい salty
・ 辛い からい spicy
・ 苦い にがい bitter
・ 渋い しぶい tart
・ まったり（とした）or コクがある full of umami
Umami うま味/うまみ is the savoury taste of naturally occurring MSG, e.g., the taste of double cream or bone marrow broth. Many people in one way or another are aware of this taste but most languages do not have a specific word for it.
Japanese also has a slew of expressions to describe various nuances of tastes, textures, and flavours. For example:
・ 後味 あとあじ aftertaste
・ 口直し くちなおし eating something nice to compensate for something bad-tasting you’ve just had
・ 隠し味 かくしあじ ”hidden taste”, elevating or underlining the main taste by using a supporting ingredient such as a pinch of salt in a sweet cake, or cocoa powder in a beef stew
・ 甘口 あまくち mild
・ 辛口 からくち dry (wine)
・ ツンとした pungent (wasabi)
・ ピリッとした pungent (cheese)
・ まろやかな smooth or mellow (whiskey)
・ 甘酸っぱい あますっぱい sweet and sour (pork)
・ 甘塩の あましおの lightly salted (salmon)
・ ほろ苦い ほろにがい slightly bitter (beer)
・ 濃い こい thick, intense (stew)
・ 薄い うすい thin, watery (broth)
・ 味がしつこい heavy-tasting
・ あっさりとした light and simple tasting
・ 味気ない あじけない bland, insipid
・ 生温い なまぬるい lukewarm
・ こってり thick (e.g., udon noodles)
・ 歯応えがある はごたえがる (pleasantly) chewy
・ 噛みにくい かみにくい (unpleasantly) chewy
・ 甘ったるい あまったるい sickly sweet, saccharine
・ ふわふわ fluffy (cake)
・ とろとろ (pleasantly) oily, creamy (e.g., tuna belly sashimi)
・ もちもち viscous like mochi
・ ほかほか (pleasantly) hot (temperature) like freshly steamed rice
・ ぷりぷり plump (e.g., shrimp)
・ しゃきしゃき crisp or crunchy (salad or vegetable stir-fry)
・ からっとした or さくさく (pleasantly) dry and/or not-oily
・ かりかり (bacon or fish skin) crisp
I know dozens, or even hundreds more, especially onomatopoeic ones. Let me know in the comments if you want me to extend this list further.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Private Japanese language lessons
Want to learn Japanese? I am a PhD-educated Japanese language tutor with a university degree in teaching and 27 years of experience teaching all levels of Japanese. Available in most time zones. Read more here or email me any questions.
Multisensory workshops, media-enhanced talks, and interactive lectures
Culture, history, anthropology, food, travel, science… I blend my academic training, my multicultural background, and my passion for all things beautiful and meaningful to give talks, lectures, and workshops online and in-person. Read more here or email me any questions.
Training in Effective Communication Across Cultures
How do you navigate cultural barriers to do business abroad? I put my experience of living, working and studying in 5 countries through the lens of my PhD in Social Sciences and my International House Certificate in Cross-Cultural Communication to provide highly engaging interactive workshops on life and work in Japan, United Kingdom, Russia, Thailand, and the Netherlands. Read more here or email me any questions.
Academic Skills Training and Mentoring
Baffled by your university coursework? Don’t know how to begin an essay? Missing submission deadlines all the time? Following up on 10 years of helping hundreds of university students get their degree with flying colours, I give interactive Academic Skills workshops for university students and provide individually tailored mentoring for all kinds of coursework. Read more here or email me any questions.
