激うま

• Reading: げきうま
• Romaji: gekiuma
• Kanji breakdown: 激 (extreme/intense) + うま (delicious, from うまい) → extremely delicious
• Pronunciation: /ge.ki.u.ma/

Meaning

Insanely delicious — an emphatic way to say something tastes incredibly good.

激うま uses the intensifier 激 (extreme) before うまい (delicious) to create a powerful food compliment. It is very common in casual food reviews, social media posts, and YouTube food content. While similar to めっちゃ美味しい, 激うま has a punchier, more informal energy and is frequently used in food article headlines and restaurant review titles.

Examples

1. 昨日食べたパンケーキ、激うまだったからまた行きたい。 The pancakes I had yesterday were insanely good — I want to go back.
2. この店の唐揚げ激うまだよ、騙されたと思って食べてみて。 The fried chicken at this place is crazy delicious — just trust me and try it.
3. 激うまレシピ見つけたから今度作ってみるね。 I found an insanely tasty recipe, so I'll make it for us sometime.

Usage Guide

Context: friends, social media, food reviews

Tone: enthusiastic, emphatic

Do Say

• ここのカレー激うまだから食べてみて！ (The curry here is insanely good — try it!)
• 激うまスイーツ見つけた、シェアするね。 (Found an incredibly tasty dessert — sharing it with you.)

Don't Say

• フォーマルな場で「激うま」は粗野に聞こえる (Saying 激うま in formal settings sounds crude — use とても美味しい instead)

Common Mistakes

• Using 激うま with です/ます — it sounds awkward because the word is inherently very casual

Origin & History

From 激 (extreme/intense) + うまい (delicious). A natural compound intensifier that became especially common in food media and social media in the 2010s.

Cultural Context

Era: 2010s, popularized through food media and social media

Generation: All ages in casual settings

Social background: Universal informal

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. Very common in food blog titles and social media food posts.