旨味

Japanese
Kanji in this term
旨 味
うま
Grade: S		 み
Grade: 3
(ateji)
kun’yomi on’yomi
Alternative spellings
旨み
甘味
甘み

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

Noun

旨(うま)味(み) • (umami) 

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

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
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