4 Words for Appreciating Food in Japanese
Japanese has several words for enjoying food. This goes beyond just saying something tastes good or talking about the flavor. Japanese has a great number of words for the texture of the food. Let’s take a look at some ways to talk about food texture.
INDEX
口当たり
口当たり can be broken into 口 which is mouth, and 当たり which means making contact. So, this word literally means making contact with the mouth. When you talk about food in Japanese with 口当たり it refers to a general sense of the food or drink in your mouth. It can refer to the taste, texture, or fragrance as the food is inside your mouth.
このワインは口当たりがいい
This wine is pleasant
It is hard to translate this directly since the word just generally means the sense someone is getting from the food. But you can see from the example above, the word can be used in phrases to tell you if the food is pleasant or not.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/歯応え
歯応え is our next word. This word refers to the texture when you bite into something. 歯 means teeth and 応え means response. So, basically the response you feel from biting into something.
舌触り
舌触り means the feeling on the tongue. This word refers to the texture of the food more than the flavor or taste.
旨み – How do you say Savory in Japanese?
喉越し
喉越し is a word in Japanese for the feeling you get when swallowing or something going down the throat. This is fitting since 喉 means throat and 越し is passing by.
