umami

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Japanese 旨味, うまみ (umami), which describes the flavour.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑːmi
• oo-MAH-mee

Noun

umami (uncountable)

1. One of the five basic tastes, the savory taste of foods such as seaweed, cured fish, aged cheeses and meats
   • 2011, Caitlin Moran, How to be a Woman:

     But we are, of course, sweaty, fleshy lady-animals – all fur and umami.

2. The taste of flavor enhancers added to food to accentuate savoriness, notably monosodium glutamate

Synonyms

• (one of five basic tastes): savoriness, deliciousness, meatiness, brothiness

Translations

one of the five basic tastes, savoriness

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鮮味 (cmn) (Xian Wei)

• Indonesian: gurih (id)

See also

• bitterness
• osmazome
• saltiness
• sourness
• sweetness

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Japanese

Romanization

umami

1. See うまみ