What does it mean word for word?
料理 (ryōri) literally refers to the cooking or the cuisine itself rather than just the physical substance of food, and 美味しい (oishii) is an adjective meaning delicious or tasty.
Which one should you use?
The adjective 美味しい is used specifically for flavor. Other variations exist depending on context, such as using gohan ga oishii when specifically referring to rice being delicious.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
There are several ways to express this depending on the setting. For formal situations, you can use 美味しいです, おいしいご飯ですね。 or お料理が絶品です。 For informal settings, you might use めっちゃおいしい！ or ごはんが美味しい！ Younger people may also use the slang term umasugiru.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Osaka, you can use the phrase meccha umai to mean 'super delicious'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase a polite and complete sentence suitable for most social situations, you can add です (desu) to the end, resulting in 料理が美味しいです.
How do you pronounce it?
ryōri ga oishii
Did you know?
- When eating, Japanese people often say いただきます (itadakimasu) before the meal and ごちそうさまでした (gochisousama deshita) after, regardless of how 'good' the food tastes.
- The word 料理 (ryōri) is composed of characters meaning 'manage' and 'material', suggesting that 'food' is the result of the active process of preparation.
- While 美味しい (oishii) is the standard word for 'delicious', the word 旨い (umai) is often used by men or in very casual settings and can also mean 'skillful' when describing a person.
Examples in context
- 料理が美味しいです。ryouri ga oishii desu.The food is good.
- この店の料理が美味しい。kono mise no ryouri ga oishii.The food at this shop is good.
- 母の料理が美味しい。haha no ryouri ga oishii.My mother's cooking is good.
Example conversation
Ren and Himari are eating at a new restaurant.
- 蓮 Ren陽葵、この料理が美味しいね。Himari, kono ryōri ga oishii ne.Himari, this food is good, isn't it?
- 陽葵 Himariうん、本当に美味しい！Un, hontō ni oishii!Yeah, it's really delicious!
- 蓮 Renここに来て良かったよ。Koko ni kite yokatta yo.I'm glad we came here.
- 陽葵 Himari私もそう思うわ。Watashi mo sō omou wa.I think so too.
