Japanese grammar · Beginner 1

味のことばaji no kotoba

taste words: spicy, sweet, sour, bitter

Use 「辛い」「甘い」「酸っぱい」「苦い」 to describe food’s taste.

How it works

Look at the foods and faces: how do you say spicy, sweet, sour, and bitter in Japanese?
When mapo tofu gives your mouth a spicy kick, describe it with 「辛い（からい）」.
Yokan is sweet like sugar. Describe this taste with 「甘い（あまい）」.
Lemon tastes sour in your mouth. Describe it with 「酸っぱい（すっぱい）」.
Coffee without sugar often tastes bitter. Describe it with 「苦い（にがい）」.
To describe how food tastes, use 「food は + taste word + です」, as in 「麻婆豆腐は辛いです」.
When asked 「〜はどうですか」, you can answer with a taste, such as 「甘いです」.
「とても」 means “very”; 「ちょっと」 means “a little.” Both go before the taste word.
For salty soup, use 「しょっぱい」. 「ちょっとしょっぱいです」 means “It’s a little salty.”
Taste words describe the flavor; 「おいしい」 means it tastes good. Something can be a little salty and still taste good.