umami
/uˈmɑːmi/noun
umami is spelled U-M-A-M-I: 5 letters. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,838th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, umami means “One of the five basic tastes, the savory taste of foods such as seaweed, cured fish, aged cheeses and meats” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in umami?
| Letters | 5: U-M-A-M-I |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,838th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is umami?
Umami appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,838th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce umami?
- /uˈmɑːmi/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-umami.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does umami mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One of the five basic tastes, the savory taste of foods such as seaweed, cured fish, aged cheeses and meats.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Umami in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one of the five basic tastes, savoriness:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | umami |
| German | Umami |
| Spanish | umami |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does umami come from?
From Japanese 旨味, うまみ (umami), from 旨い (umai, “delicious”) + み (-mi, “-ness”), which describes the quality of a pleasant, savory taste.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).