How to Say "Okashi" in Japanese

お菓子

okashi[o̞ka̠ɕi]

The Japanese word okashi refers to sweets, snacks or confectionery.

お菓子 is a broad term used for anything from candy and chocolate to cookies, crackers and traditional Japanese sweets.

Which one should you use?

While お菓子 covers both sweet and savory snacks (like potato chips), it is most commonly associated with sweet treats in casual conversation.

Removing the honorific prefix 'o' results in the more formal or technical term 菓子, often used in business or industry contexts.

The word お菓子 sounds identical to the word おかしい, which means 'strange' or 'funny'. Depending on the context and intonation, a sentence about sweets could be mistaken for a comment on someone's odd behavior.
Traditional お菓子 are often designed to mimic the current season, such as sweets shaped like cherry blossoms in spring or maple leaves in autumn.
In Japanese culture, it is common to bring お菓子 as a 'temiyage' or small gift when visiting someone's home. This is a social lubricant used to express gratitude or apologize for the intrusion.

お菓子を食べます。
Okashi o tabemasu.
I will eat some sweets.
このお菓子はとても美味しいです。
Kono okashi wa totemo oishii desu.
This sweet is very delicious.
スーパーでお菓子を買いました。
Suupaa de okashi o kaimashita.
I bought some sweets at the supermarket.

Kenta and Misaki are at home deciding on a snack.

健太 Kenta

何かお菓子を食べたいな。
Nanika okashi o tabetai na.
I want to eat some sweets.
美咲 Misaki

冷蔵庫にお菓子はある？
Reizouko ni okashi wa aru?
Is there any sweets in the fridge?
健太 Kenta

あ、美咲、お菓子を見つけたよ！
A, Misaki, okashi o mitsuketa yo!
Oh, Misaki, I found some sweets!
美咲 Misaki

やった！一緒に食べよう。
Yatta! Issho ni tabeyou.
Yay! Let's eat them together.

Sources

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