Delicious in Japanese: Oishii vs Umai vs Uma vs Yabai

To say “Delicious” almost always pleases the cook who prepared the dish, which, of course, applies to Japan too.

So if you memorize how to say Delicious in Japanese, you will be almost ready to enjoy dinner at Japanese restaurants or with Japanese friends.

Delicious in Japanese

Like this, for those of you who want to know how to say Delicious in Japanese, here, I will introduce the 4 most common ways from formal to casual or slang. 

Oishii (おいしい, 美味しい)

Oishii (pronunciation) is the most common and formal way to say Delicious in Japanese. “Oishii-Desu (おいしいです)” (pronunciation), the politer version, can be used in every situation by anyone without hesitation. 

Umai (うまい, 美味い)

Umai (pronunciation) is another most common way to say Delicious in Japanese. But Umai is less formal than Oishii and is not recommended to use to people you don’t know. Also, Umai tends to be more often used by males than females.

Uma (うまっ)

Uma (pronunciation), short for Umai, is a casual way to say Delicious in Japanese. Uma is often used among male friends or in the family. So it’s not appropriate to say Uma to unknown people.

Yabai (やばい)

Yabai (pronunciation) is a Japanese slang word for “Delicious” often used by young generations. Yabai is a contronym or word with two opposite meanings, “dangerous” and “awesome”, and can also mean “delicious”.