旨味

Japanese
Kanji in this term
旨 味
うま
Grade: S		 み
Grade: 3
yutōyomi

Etymology

Compound of 旨 (uma, the stem of adjective 旨い (umai, “tasty, delicious”)) +‎ み (mi, “-ness”, in reference to quality, contrasting with suffix さ (sa, “-ness”) that is used to describe degree).[1][2][3]

The use of 味 to spell the -mi suffix is an example of ateji (当て字).[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Noun

旨味 (hiragana うまみ, rōmaji umami)

  1. the umami flavour
  2. tastiness
  3. skillfulness
  4. profit

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
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