Word
調味料
Meaning in Englishcondiment, seasoning
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
What does 調味料 mean? It denotes the ingredients used to season or flavor food, typically added during cooking or at the table, including basic salts as well as sauces, sugars, vinegars, and other flavor-enhancing products.
Main meanings
- categorizes ingredients that modify flavor in cooking and serving
- includes salt, sauces, spice blends, and flavor enhancers used across cuisines
- in recipes or menus, 調味料 marks the section or list of seasonings rather than the act of seasoning itself
How to use it
Used in cooking contexts, both formal and everyday. In recipes, 調味料 refers to ingredients added for flavor; in grocery stores it's a category label; in culinary writing it describes agents that modify taste.
Variants and close terms
- 香辛料 (koushinryou): spices and aromatic seasonings
- 味付け (ajitsuke): the act of seasoning or flavoring
- だし (dashi): a common seasoning base in Japanese cooking
- 味料 (miryou): flavoring agents, less common but related
Composition
- 調: to adjust, regulate, or tune; here it implies balancing the flavor
- 味: taste, flavor
- 料: material, ingredients used to produce something; here, flavoring agents
Etymology
調 (on'yomi chō) + 味 (on'yomi mi) + 料 (on'yomi ryō) forms a native Japanese compound read as chōmiryō. The structure joins the ideas of adjusting flavor and the materials that impart taste; it is not a loanword, and its pronunciation follows standard kanji readings.
Word class
noun (名詞)
Related words by kanji and components
N1
単調
tanchou
monotony, monotone, dullness
N1
調印
chouin
signature, sign, sealing
N1
調停
choutei
arbitration, conciliation, mediation
N1
調理
chouri
cooking
N1
調和
chouwa
harmony
N1
失調
shicchou
lack of harmony, imbalance
N1
三味線
shamisen
three-stringed Japanese guitar
N1
不調
fuchou
bad condition, disorder, slump
N1
～味
～mi
~ cast (sense of taste)