美味しい（おいしい、oishiい）
- delicious

The Japanese word 美味しい means "delicious," "tasty," or "good-tasting." It describes food or drink that provides a pleasurable sensory experience. It's a very common and versatile adjective used to express enjoyment of flavors. The meaning is very close to "yummy" or "scrumptious" in English. It primarily refers to the taste of something, but it can also imply overall quality and satisfaction with the food.

⚫︎このケーキは美味しいですね。 Translation: This cake is delicious, isn't it? ⚫︎美味しいラーメンを食べたい。 Translation: I want to eat delicious ramen. ⚫︎美味しくて、全部食べちゃった。 Translation: It was so delicious, I ate it all. (The ～て form shows that it is a clause of reason)

⚫︎You can use 美味しい to describe any food or drink that you enjoy. ⚫︎It can be used in various contexts, from casual conversations to more formal settings, though a slight shift in tone might be needed in very formal situations. ⚫︎It's often used as a direct descriptor: "This sushi is 美味しい" ⚫︎It can be modified with adverbs to express the degree of deliciousness: "とても美味しい" (very delicious) or "すごく美味しい" (extremely delicious). ⚫︎When you want to say “it was delicious”, you can say 美味しかった. (past tense form) ⚫︎If someone offers you food and asks "How is it?" you can respond with 美味しいです.

⚫︎The word is most commonly written in hiragana as おいしい. ⚫︎The kanji is 美味しい. ⚫︎The okurigana (the suffix hiragana) is usually written as い. There are no major variations.

⚫︎うまい (umai) - This is a more casual synonym for 美味しい. It can also imply "skillful" or "good" in other contexts. ⚫︎美味 (bimi) - This is the noun form, meaning "delicious food" or "delicacy." ⚫︎絶品 (zeppin) - This means "exquisite," "supreme dish," or "a masterpiece." It implies something exceptionally delicious.

⚫︎不味い (mazui) - This means "tasteless," "not delicious," or "bad-tasting." ⚫︎美味しくない (oishikunai) - The negative form of 美味しい, meaning "not delicious."

このレストランのカレーは本当に美味しい！ ・Translation: The curry in this restaurant is really delicious! ・Explanation: This sentence uses 美味しい to express enjoyment of the curry's taste. The word really (本当に) is added to express the degree of deliciousness.

美味しいものを食べると幸せな気分になるね。 ・Translation: Eating delicious food makes you feel happy, doesn't it? ・Explanation: This sentence combines 美味しい with the feeling of happiness that comes from eating enjoyable food.

The word 美味しい is believed to come from the adjective 良い (yoi or ii), meaning "good," and the word 味 (aji), meaning "taste." The combined sense evolved to express the positive experience of taste that we call "delicious."