umami
[ʊˈmaːmi]
The verdict
“umami” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - grundlegende, mit rauchig vergleichbare Geschmacksrichtung, die durch die Aminosäuren Glutaminsäure, Asparaginsäure und eiweißreiche Nahrung verursacht wird
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | umami |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [ʊˈmaːmi] |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “umami” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for umami is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ʊˈmaːmi]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "grundlegende, mit rauchig vergleichbare Geschmacksrichtung, die durch die Aminosäuren Glutaminsäure, Asparaginsäure und eiweißreiche Nahrung verursacht wird".
umami has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is umami, spelled U-M-A-M-I.
Definition
- 1grundlegende, mit rauchig vergleichbare Geschmacksrichtung, die durch die Aminosäuren Glutaminsäure, Asparaginsäure und eiweißreiche Nahrung verursacht wird
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “umami”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is U-M-A-M-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ʊˈmaːmi] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.