酸い

Japanese

Etymology

/susi/ > /suki/ > /sui/. The noun su (“vinegar”) with the suffix -si turning it into an adjective. When the attributive form overtook the conclusive declension, it became suki followed by the medial -k- dropping out resulting in sui. The original form /susi/ remains in the term sushi.

Adjective

酸い (い-i inflection, hiragana すい, romaji sui)

1. to have the taste of vinegar; sour

Related terms

• 酸っぱい (すっぱい, suppai): Sour. More commonly heard than 酸い.