わさび抜き
wasabi nuki
In Japanese, the phrase for "no wasabi" is わさび抜き (wasabi nuki).
You use this phrase to request that a dish be prepared without the addition of wasabi. When ordering at a restaurant, you can make the request more polite and complete by saying わさび抜きでお願いします, which means "without wasabi, please".
What does it mean word for word?
The term わさび抜き contains the suffix 抜き (nuki), which means "without" or "excluding" a specific ingredient.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Kansai region, a regional variant used to mean "I don't need wasabi" is Wasabi wa iranē.
How does it change in a sentence?
To turn わさび抜き into a natural request to a server, add the particle で (de) to the end, resulting in わさび抜きで. This expresses the intent of having the dish served without wasabi.
How do you pronounce it?
wasabi nuki
Did you know?
- The word わさび refers specifically to the plant, but most 'wasabi' served in casual restaurants is actually a mixture of horseradish, mustard and green coloring.
- The term 抜き can also be used in a non-food context to mean 'skipping' or 'omitting' something, such as yasumi-nuki meaning 'without a break' or 'without a day off'.
- If you use the Kansai variant Wasabi wa iranē, you are using a very rough, masculine dialect that might sound startlingly aggressive to a server in a polite Tokyo restaurant.
Examples in context
- わさび抜きでお願いします。wasabi nuki de onegaishimasu.No wasabi, please.
- わさび抜きにできますか？wasabi nuki ni dekimasu ka?Can you make it without wasabi?
- わさび抜きにしてください。wasabi nuki ni shite kudasai.Please prepare it without wasabi.
Example conversation
Ordering sushi at a restaurant.
- 蓮 Ren蓮さん、何を注文しますか？Ren-san, nani o chumon shimasu ka?Ren, what are you going to order?
- 美咲 Misaki私はマグロをわさび抜きで頼みます。Watashi wa maguro o wasabi nuki de tanomimasu.I'll order the tuna with no wasabi.
- 蓮 Renわさびが苦手なんですね。Wasabi ga nigate nan desu ne.You're not good with wasabi, are you?
- 美咲 Misakiはい、辛いのが苦手です。Hai, karai no ga nigate desu.Yes, I can't handle spicy things.
