旨み – How do you say Savory in Japanese?

So you want to know how to say savory in Japanese? That is a good question actually because there is not an exact word for savory. There are ways to talk about food and taste obviously in Japanese. Depending on what you mean in English when you say savory though, you may use a different Japanese word. Anyway, let’s take a look.

How to say Savory in Japanese

In English when you say savory it can mean a few different things. Savory can mean a taste that is not sweet like a savory dish compared to a sweet dessert. This word can also mean a type of taste referred to as savoriness or umami. Umami is a Japanese word which we will talk about later. Finally, savory can mean a non-specific pleasant taste that may be rich, aromatic, and so on.

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Ways to say Savory in Japanese

There is not a word in Japanese to talk about savory dishes in contrast to sweet desserts. Yes, desserts and main meals are distinguished in different ways but they are not separated into categories that way. So, if you want to say you prefer savory dishes over sweet dishes you would say it a little differently in Japanese. You would say something like you don’t really like sweets, or don’t care that much for sweets, and so on.

甘あまいものはあまり好すきじゃない
I don’t really care for sweets

Or you could say that you prefer salty snacks or foods over sweet foods.

甘いものより塩辛しおからいものが好き
I prefer salty foods to sweet foods

What does Umami mean?

So, what does umami mean? Well, this word has become a word in English too to refer to a specific taste for savoriness. This taste refers to the flavor in different foods like cheese, meats, soy sauce, broths, and so on.  The word umami is 旨味うまみ in Japanese. This word comes from the adjective 旨い which is said for delicious food like the other Japanese word 美味おいしい.

美味しそう！ Should I say Oishii or Oishisou?

旨い is a very common Japanese word just to talk about anything that someone finds tasty. It can be savory or sweet. If you want to say something closer to referring to the savoriness of food, you could say a few different things.

• 旨みがある – this has umami
• 風味ふうみのある食たべ物もの – food with flavor
• 味あじのいい – having good taste

Resources

• Savoury – (The Free Dictionary)