The everyday word for delicious in Japanese is 美味しい (oishii). But when food is really good, Japanese speakers reach for stronger, more casual words. Here are five you will hear in ramen shops, izakaya and street food stalls, with how casual each one is and exactly when to use it.
| Japanese | Romaji | Feels like |
|---|---|---|
| 美味しい | oishii | delicious (safe anywhere) |
| うまい | umai | tasty! |
| ばりうま | bariuma | seriously tasty |
| ばりおいしい | bari oishii | really delicious |
| めちゃうま | mechauma | crazy good |
| バカうま | bakauma | stupidly delicious |
Delicious. Written 美味しい in kanji. This is the word to learn first: it works with friends, strangers, your boss and in restaurants. Add desu to make it polite.
5 more casual ways to say delicious
Tasty. The short, punchy casual version of oishii. Once seen as a guy's word, now everyone says it with friends.
Seriously tasty. Bari means "very" in Fukuoka dialect, stuck onto umai. Perfect for Hakata ramen.
Can't read うまい yet?
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Really delicious. Same bari intensifier as #2, but with oishii, so it sounds a little softer and friendlier.
Crazy good. Short for mechakucha umai, literally "absurdly tasty". Very common with younger speakers.
Stupidly delicious. Baka (fool) used as an intensifier. Save it for food so good it's ridiculous.
Which one should you use?
All five are casual, so keep them for friends and relaxed meals. With your boss, a host family or at a nice restaurant, stick to おいしいです (oishii desu), and after the meal say ごちそうさまでした (gochisōsama deshita) to thank whoever cooked or paid.
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