How do you say "salty" in Japanese?

塩辛い

shiokarai

Adjective Kanji

In Japanese, "salty" is 塩辛い (shiokarai).

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Pronunciation

Pronounce shee-oh-kah-RAI, four syllables, shio means salt so give that first part a touch of emphasis.

Writing and usage

塩辛い is written using kanji. It's a adjective, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

スープは少し塩辛すぎた。

suupu ha sukoshi shiokarasu gita.

The soup was a little too salty.

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How to remember 塩辛い

Shiokarai literally starts with shio, salt, picture dipping a shoe (shio) into the ocean and finding it salty and karai, spicy too.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 塩辛い

How do you pronounce 塩辛い?

Pronounce shee-oh-kah-RAI, four syllables, shio means salt so give that first part a touch of emphasis.

Is 塩辛い formal or casual?

塩辛い is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 塩辛い written in Japanese?

塩辛い is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as shiokarai.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Salty" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

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