旨味

• 読み: うまみ
• ローマ字: umami
• 漢字の分解: 旨 (uma) — delicious, tasty | 味 (mi) — taste, flavour
• 発音: /ɯ.ma.mi/

意味

Umami; a savoury, rich taste; profit or benefit; the appealing essence of something.

In its culinary sense, 旨味 is the fifth basic taste (alongside sweet, sour, salty, bitter), now internationally recognised as 'umami'. Figuratively, 旨味がある means there is benefit or advantage in something; 旨味がない means something is not worth the effort. The figurative usage is common in business and everyday conversation.

例文

1. 昆布と鰹節の組み合わせが、だしに深い旨味を与える。
2. この取引には双方にとって旨味があると、交渉担当者は判断した。
3. 旨味の少ない仕事ばかり任されて、彼はやりがいを失いかけていた。

使い方ガイド

場面: cooking, business, everyday life, gastronomy

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

Compound of 旨 (uma/shi) meaning 'delicious, tasty' and 味 (mi) meaning 'taste, flavour'. The word was later adopted into English as 'umami' following the identification of glutamate receptors by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda in 1908.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal